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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. track — to keep track
  4. degree — from a university
  5. track — a song
  6. season — in sport
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. degree — an amount
  10. degree — temperature
  11. scale — in music
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. scale — size or range
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. pitch — completely
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. wind — moving air
  21. track — a path
  22. wind — moving air
  23. rock — a stone
  24. season — of the year

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