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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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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: stick · chest · drill · mate · racket · track · degree · wax

  1. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. chest — of your body
  3. degree — an amount
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. mate — to breed
  6. stick — to attach or keep to
  7. drill — army training
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. degree — temperature
  11. track — a song
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. mate — a partner
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. mate — a friend
  16. drill — a practice
  17. track — a path
  18. degree — from a university
  19. drill — the tool
  20. chest — a box
  21. track — to keep track
  22. wax — to grow
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. chest — of your body

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