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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: key · perch · bat · branch · pitcher · track · degree · pit

  1. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. key — the most important part
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. key — for a lock
  5. bat — the animal
  6. perch — the fish
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. degree — an amount
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. key — in music
  11. branch — a division
  12. track — a path
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. track — a song
  16. pit — a hole
  17. degree — temperature
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. pit — in a race
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. degree — from a university

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