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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 116 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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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. track — a song
  3. scale — size or range
  4. degree — temperature
  5. degree — from a university
  6. tube — a container
  7. root — the cause
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. root — of a plant
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. track — a path
  12. tube — the underground
  13. track — to keep track
  14. root — of a word
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. scale — in music
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. pitch — completely

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