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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: bank · degree · band · track · current · race · spring · wake

  1. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. degree — temperature
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. spring — a coil
  6. current — electric
  7. spring — the season
  8. band — a ring
  9. wake — a trail
  10. race — the arms race
  11. track — to keep track
  12. bank — of a river
  13. spring — of water
  14. track — a song
  15. bank — for money
  16. band — a music group
  17. degree — from a university
  18. race — humankind
  19. race — a contest
  20. bank — for money
  21. current — of water
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. current — happening now
  24. degree — an amount

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