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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: degree · field · nail · march · pass · press · bass · track

  1. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. march — the month
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. field — farmland
  6. march — the month
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. press — newspapers
  9. degree — from a university
  10. degree — an amount
  11. march — music
  12. press — a publisher
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. pass — a permit
  15. degree — temperature
  16. field — for sport
  17. track — a song
  18. bass — low music
  19. bass — the fish
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. field — a subject
  22. track — a path
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. press — to push

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