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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 has no idea where the ________________ is.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — a strongbox
  2. scale — in music
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. spring — a coil
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. cell — in biology
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. spring — of water
  11. degree — an amount
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. degree — temperature
  16. spring — the season
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. bat — the animal
  19. sharp — clever
  20. cell — a phone
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. scale — size or range
  23. degree — from a university
  24. racket — for tennis

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