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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: chip · track · spell · band · shower · perch · degree · pitch

  1. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. chip — to eat
  3. degree — an amount
  4. track — a song
  5. shower — rain
  6. spell — a short time
  7. perch — the fish
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. degree — temperature
  12. band — a music group
  13. chip — for betting
  14. band — a ring
  15. shower — to wash
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. degree — from a university
  18. track — to keep track
  19. track — a path
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. spell — magic
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. pitch — completely

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