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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: kick · perch · squash · track · degree · bass · kid · wound

  1. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. degree — temperature
  4. wound — an injury
  5. kid — child
  6. track — a path
  7. kid — to tease
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. bass — low music
  10. squash — the sport
  11. perch — the fish
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. bass — the fish
  16. track — to keep track
  17. degree — from a university
  18. wound — an injury
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. kick — in football
  22. squash — to crush
  23. degree — an amount
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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