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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. scale — size or range
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. mate — a friend
  7. rest — what's left
  8. bore — to tire
  9. degree — temperature
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. scale — in music
  13. rest — a break
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. mate — a partner
  16. mate — to breed
  17. degree — from a university
  18. bore — to drill
  19. rest — what's left
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. pit — in a race
  22. pit — a hole
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. scale — for weighing

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