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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 120 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: degree · bank · track · rash · game · straw · tube · pop

  1. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  21. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. track — to keep track
  3. degree — temperature
  4. degree — an amount
  5. pop — soda
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. tube — a container
  8. game — wild animals
  9. degree — from a university
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. game — a match
  12. pop — music
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. tube — the underground
  17. rash — hasty
  18. bank — for money
  19. pop — to visit
  20. bank — of a river
  21. bank — for money
  22. track — a song
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. rash — a series

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