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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: wound · bank · track · fall · degree · wax · drill · spell

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. track — to keep track
  3. degree — temperature
  4. fall — the season
  5. spell — a short time
  6. fall — to drop
  7. wax — to grow
  8. bank — for money
  9. spell — letters
  10. bank — for money
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. drill — a practice
  13. wound — an injury
  14. track — a path
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. spell — magic
  17. drill — the tool
  18. fall — to drop
  19. degree — from a university
  20. wound — an injury
  21. track — a song
  22. drill — army training
  23. bank — of a river
  24. wax — for sculpting

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com