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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: track · chest · degree · game · spell · calf · file · race

  1. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. degree — from a university
  3. track — a song
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. file — a document
  6. game — a match
  7. race — the arms race
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. game — wild animals
  10. track — a path
  11. chest — of your body
  12. file — a tool
  13. chest — of your body
  14. degree — an amount
  15. race — a contest
  16. race — humankind
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. spell — a short time
  19. file — a line of people
  20. track — to keep track
  21. chest — a box
  22. degree — temperature
  23. spell — letters
  24. game — a kind of play

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