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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 120 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. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — for measuring
  2. degree — an amount
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. capital — money
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. content — happy
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. scale — size or range
  9. pit — in a race
  10. capital — a city
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. degree — temperature
  13. content — the amount
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. scale — in music
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. saw — the tool
  18. degree — from a university
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. pit — a hole
  21. ruler — a monarch
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. saw — the tool
  24. capital — a big letter

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