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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: wind · racket · capital · degree · track · bark · suit · stem

  1. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  3. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. When will it ________________ you to start?
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. suit — in cards
  3. suit — clothes
  4. bark — to shout
  5. wind — moving air
  6. degree — from a university
  7. stem — to come from
  8. track — a path
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. wind — moving air
  11. track — a song
  12. capital — money
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. capital — a city
  17. degree — temperature
  18. degree — an amount
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. suit — to fit
  24. stem — of a plant

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