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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: bore · field · sharp · track · degree · cue · wind · mine

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. cue — a hint
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. sharp — clever
  5. wind — moving air
  6. cue — for pool
  7. degree — from a university
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. degree — an amount
  10. cue — a signal
  11. mine — for digging
  12. wind — moving air
  13. field — for sport
  14. bore — to tire
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. track — to keep track
  17. track — a path
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. field — a subject
  22. field — farmland
  23. track — a song
  24. bore — to drill

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