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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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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 · kid · wound · face · wind · stock · track · mouse

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. face — part of the head
  3. wound — an injury
  4. stock — goods
  5. degree — from a university
  6. wound — an injury
  7. degree — an amount
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. mouse — for a computer
  10. stock — shares
  11. track — to keep track
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. kid — child
  14. track — a song
  15. track — a path
  16. kid — to tease
  17. face — to confront
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. wind — moving air
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. face — to point toward
  24. wind — moving air

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