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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 · track · degree · rush · fine · pound · pass · stock

  1. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. wind — moving air
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. track — a path
  5. fine — high quality
  6. degree — an amount
  7. fine — all right
  8. wind — moving air
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. track — to keep track
  11. pass — to succeed
  12. rush — hurry
  13. degree — temperature
  14. degree — from a university
  15. stock — shares
  16. pound — a weight
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. pass — to spend time
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. pass — a permit
  21. track — a song
  22. stock — goods
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. stock — a soup base

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