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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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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. row — a line
  4. scale — size or range
  5. degree — temperature
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. scale — in music
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. track — to keep track
  10. degree — from a university
  11. degree — an amount
  12. track — a path
  13. mine — for digging
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. row — to paddle
  16. track — a song
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. bowl — to roll

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