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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. degree — from a university
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. pass — a permit
  7. scale — in music
  8. fork — in a road
  9. scale — size or range
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. pass — to succeed
  13. degree — an amount
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. rock — a stone
  16. degree — temperature
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. pass — to spend time

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