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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: pitch · degree · bore · track · land · fall · squash · mark

  1. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. fall — to drop
  4. pitch — completely
  5. degree — from a university
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. bore — to tire
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. land — ground
  10. degree — temperature
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. degree — an amount
  14. mark — a trace
  15. squash — the sport
  16. mark — a grade
  17. squash — to crush
  18. bore — to drill
  19. land — a country
  20. fall — the season
  21. land — to come down
  22. track — a song
  23. track — a path
  24. fall — to drop

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