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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. jam — to spread on bread
  3. track — to keep track
  4. scale — size or range
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. fall — the season
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. jam — a tight spot
  9. track — a song
  10. fall — to drop
  11. scale — in music
  12. degree — temperature
  13. jam — in traffic
  14. chair — a leader
  15. degree — from a university
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. fall — to drop
  18. track — a path

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