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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 · snap · spell · straw · wound · degree · bay · band

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. My mare is ________________ in color.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. band — a ring
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. degree — from a university
  5. spell — a short time
  6. degree — an amount
  7. track — a song
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. bay — a horse colour
  10. track — to keep track
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. spell — letters
  13. band — a music group
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. bay — to keep at bay
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. spell — magic
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. snap — to click
  21. track — a path
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. wound — an injury
  24. wound — an injury

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