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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 · degree · craft · game · bowl · clip · club · spell

  1. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. degree — temperature
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. craft — boats
  5. degree — from a university
  6. spell — magic
  7. spell — a short time
  8. clip — to cut
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. degree — an amount
  11. clip — for paper
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. track — to keep track
  15. club — a group
  16. craft — a skill
  17. track — a song
  18. clip — a video
  19. club — for dancing
  20. spell — letters
  21. game — wild animals
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. club — for golf
  24. game — a match

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