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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: degree · track · bowl · stock · perch · bay · court · wound

  1. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. My mare is ________________ in color.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. perch — the fish
  3. track — a path
  4. degree — an amount
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. degree — from a university
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. degree — temperature
  9. wound — an injury
  10. court — of law
  11. court — of a king
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. court — for sport
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. stock — goods
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. track — a song
  19. bay — a horse colour
  20. wound — an injury
  21. stock — shares
  22. bowl — a dish
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. bay — to keep at bay

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