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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.

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: cabinet · mine · track · spell · degree · chair · pass · kid

  1. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. mine — for digging
  3. spell — letters
  4. degree — an amount
  5. degree — temperature
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. cabinet — a cupboard
  8. spell — a short time
  9. kid — child
  10. degree — from a university
  11. chair — a leader
  12. spell — magic
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. kid — to tease
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. track — to keep track
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. track — a path
  22. pass — a permit
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. pass — to succeed

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