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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: branch · track · mark · rash · pound · race · club · degree

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. branch — a division
  5. track — a song
  6. track — a path
  7. degree — from a university
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. race — humankind
  10. degree — an amount
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. mark — a grade
  13. track — to keep track
  14. rash — hasty
  15. club — for dancing
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. mark — a trace
  18. pound — a weight
  19. degree — temperature
  20. club — for golf
  21. club — a group
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. rash — a series
  24. race — the arms race

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