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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: wind · degree · fork · track · scale · chest · mate · spell

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. wind — moving air
  3. mate — to breed
  4. degree — temperature
  5. mate — a friend
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. track — to keep track
  8. wind — moving air
  9. scale — size or range
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. degree — an amount
  12. fork — in a road
  13. spell — magic
  14. chest — a box
  15. spell — a short time
  16. mate — a partner
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. chest — of your body
  19. degree — from a university
  20. track — a song
  21. scale — in music
  22. spell — letters
  23. track — a path
  24. chest — of your body

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