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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: row · track · degree · last · snap · prune · patient · field

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. row — to paddle
  4. last — to go on
  5. prune — to trim
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. row — a line
  9. field — farmland
  10. last — final
  11. track — to keep track
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. prune — to trim
  14. degree — from a university
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. degree — an amount
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. track — a path
  19. snap — to click
  20. field — for sport
  21. last — finally
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. degree — temperature
  24. track — a song

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