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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: track · hide · wound · pop · ball · wax · safe · degree

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. wound — an injury
  3. track — a path
  4. degree — an amount
  5. pop — soda
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. degree — from a university
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. pop — to visit
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. track — a song
  13. pop — music
  14. ball — a dance
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. wax — to grow
  17. track — to keep track
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. ball — a great time
  21. safe — a strongbox
  22. wound — an injury
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. degree — temperature

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