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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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. key — in music
  4. cap — a hat
  5. degree — temperature
  6. content — happy
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. field — for sport
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. cap — of ice
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. degree — from a university
  13. field — farmland
  14. field — a subject
  15. content — the amount
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. key — for a lock
  18. cap — a lid
  19. key — the most important part
  20. degree — an amount
  21. scale — in music
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. wake — a trail
  24. calf — of the leg

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