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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 · nail · content · foot · track · dip · staff · row

  1. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. row — a line
  3. track — a path
  4. foot — a measure
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. staff — employees
  8. row — to paddle
  9. staff — employees
  10. content — happy
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. degree — an amount
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. degree — temperature
  15. track — to keep track
  16. dip — to sink
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. content — the amount
  20. staff — a stick
  21. degree — from a university
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. foot — part of the body
  24. content — videos and posts

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