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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: degree · dip · last · key · band · stem · mine · track

  1. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. This piece is in a major ________________.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. mine — for digging
  4. key — in music
  5. track — a path
  6. degree — temperature
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. key — the most important part
  10. stem — to come from
  11. track — to keep track
  12. dip — to sink
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. band — a ring
  15. last — final
  16. last — to go on
  17. degree — from a university
  18. last — finally
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. band — a music group
  22. degree — an amount
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. track — a song

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