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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 · racket · bass · bat · track · degree · wound · wake

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. bat — the animal
  4. bass — the fish
  5. wake — a trail
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. wound — an injury
  10. bass — low music
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. wind — moving air
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. track — to keep track
  16. wound — an injury
  17. track — a song
  18. degree — an amount
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. degree — from a university
  22. track — a path
  23. degree — temperature
  24. racket — for tennis

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