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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: march · degree · tube · track · wake · drill · bulb · mouse

  1. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. march — the month
  5. tube — the underground
  6. march — music
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. drill — a practice
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. degree — temperature
  11. drill — the tool
  12. bulb — for light
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. degree — an amount
  15. mouse — for a computer
  16. wake — a trail
  17. track — a path
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. bulb — for light
  20. degree — from a university
  21. tube — a container
  22. track — a song
  23. drill — army training
  24. march — the month

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