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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: track · prune · shower · roll · lean · degree · snap · wound

  1. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. degree — an amount
  3. lean — thin
  4. degree — temperature
  5. track — to keep track
  6. track — a path
  7. degree — from a university
  8. roll — a list
  9. roll — a cake
  10. snap — to click
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. wound — an injury
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. shower — rain
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. lean — to bend
  18. shower — to wash
  19. wound — an injury
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. prune — to trim
  24. prune — to trim

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