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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 124 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: land · cell · rash · present · track · degree · rush · firm

  1. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. cell — a phone
  3. rash — hasty
  4. degree — from a university
  5. present — there
  6. present — a gift
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. present — the time now
  11. track — a song
  12. degree — temperature
  13. land — to come down
  14. degree — an amount
  15. track — a path
  16. rush — hurry
  17. land — a country
  18. cell — in biology
  19. land — ground
  20. firm — a company
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. firm — decided
  23. rash — a series
  24. firm — steady

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