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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: chip · degree · mouse · field · track · race · branch · saw

  1. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — past of 'see'
  2. race — humankind
  3. degree — an amount
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. saw — the tool
  6. track — to keep track
  7. track — a song
  8. race — the arms race
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. branch — a division
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. field — farmland
  14. race — a contest
  15. chip — for betting
  16. degree — from a university
  17. track — a path
  18. field — for sport
  19. chip — to eat
  20. field — a subject
  21. saw — the tool
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. degree — temperature
  24. branch — of a tree

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