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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 · track · degree · squash · leaves · bore · field · pit

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. degree — from a university
  4. wind — moving air
  5. bore — to tire
  6. pit — in a race
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. bore — to drill
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. squash — to crush
  12. squash — the sport
  13. track — to keep track
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. wind — moving air
  17. field — farmland
  18. track — a song
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. track — a path
  21. field — a subject
  22. degree — temperature
  23. pit — a hole
  24. field — for sport

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