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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: snap · march · track · temple · wind · degree · wound · season

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. When was this ________________ built?
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  23. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. track — a path
  3. season — of the year
  4. degree — temperature
  5. track — to keep track
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. wind — moving air
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. wound — an injury
  10. track — a song
  11. march — the month
  12. season — in sport
  13. march — music
  14. degree — an amount
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. march — the month
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. wind — moving air
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. degree — from a university
  22. temple — side of the head
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. wound — an injury

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