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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: track · degree · roll · fork · date · fine · bass · clip

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. date — the fruit
  4. bass — the fish
  5. bass — low music
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. fine — high quality
  8. roll — a list
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. clip — a video
  11. fine — all right
  12. clip — to cut
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. clip — for paper
  15. degree — from a university
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. track — a song
  19. fork — in a road
  20. roll — a cake
  21. track — a path
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. track — to keep track
  24. degree — temperature

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