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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 · arm · net · degree · wound · capital · swing · rest

  1. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. rest — a break
  3. rest — what's left
  4. degree — temperature
  5. track — to keep track
  6. net — after costs
  7. track — a path
  8. net — for catching
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. wound — an injury
  12. net — in sport
  13. wound — an injury
  14. swing — music
  15. capital — money
  16. swing — to play on
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. degree — from a university
  19. swing — in golf
  20. capital — a city
  21. degree — an amount
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. rest — what's left

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