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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 · bound · pound · track · fan · game · squash · field

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  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. field — for sport
  2. track — a path
  3. track — to keep track
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. field — farmland
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. degree — an amount
  8. squash — to crush
  9. squash — the sport
  10. game — a match
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. bound — tied together
  16. field — a subject
  17. pound — a weight
  18. bound — obliged
  19. degree — temperature
  20. game — wild animals
  21. degree — from a university
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. bound — certain
  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