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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: leaves · degree · track · deal · board · bat · rush · fork

  1. That must've been a ________________.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. degree — temperature
  3. track — a song
  4. degree — an amount
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. deal — to handle
  7. fork — in a road
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. board — to get on
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. rush — hurry
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. bat — the animal
  15. degree — from a university
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. board — a committee
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. track — to keep track
  24. track — a path

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