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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: band · game · pit · saw · season · root · degree · track

  1. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. track — to keep track
  5. pit — a hole
  6. root — the cause
  7. band — a ring
  8. degree — an amount
  9. pit — in a race
  10. game — a match
  11. season — in sport
  12. degree — temperature
  13. band — a music group
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. track — a path
  18. root — of a word
  19. track — a song
  20. degree — from a university
  21. season — of the year
  22. root — of a plant
  23. game — wild animals
  24. saw — the tool

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