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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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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: pound · track · bay · rest · cell · capital · degree · safe

  1. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  12. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  20. My mare is ________________ in color.
  21. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  22. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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. rest — what's left
  4. rest — what's left
  5. track — to keep track
  6. cell — in biology
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. capital — a city
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. capital — money
  11. bay — to keep at bay
  12. safe — a strongbox
  13. track — a path
  14. degree — temperature
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. degree — from a university
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. pound — a weight
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. bay — a horse colour
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. bay — a part of the sea
  23. cell — a phone
  24. rest — a break

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