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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 116 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: prune · ground · track · current · fall · kid · content · degree

  1. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. degree — temperature
  3. prune — to trim
  4. track — a song
  5. kid — to tease
  6. current — happening now
  7. track — to keep track
  8. current — of water
  9. content — the amount
  10. fall — to drop
  11. degree — an amount
  12. prune — to trim
  13. fall — the season
  14. kid — child
  15. degree — from a university
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. ground — the earth
  19. ground — a position
  20. content — happy
  21. ground — crushed
  22. current — electric
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. track — a path

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