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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 120 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 · bay · ground · squash · trunk · band · cell

  1. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. My mare is ________________ in color.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. squash — to crush
  3. degree — an amount
  4. ground — the earth
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. cell — in biology
  8. ground — a position
  9. band — a ring
  10. track — to keep track
  11. degree — temperature
  12. bay — a horse colour
  13. cell — a phone
  14. ground — crushed
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. degree — from a university
  17. track — a song
  18. band — a music group
  19. track — a path
  20. squash — the sport
  21. bay — to keep at bay
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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