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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. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — in music
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. craft — a skill
  4. club — for golf
  5. face — part of the head
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. degree — an amount
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. face — to confront
  10. face — to point toward
  11. capital — money
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. club — a group
  14. scale — size or range
  15. kid — to tease
  16. kid — child
  17. club — for dancing
  18. craft — boats
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. degree — temperature
  21. capital — a city
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. degree — from a university

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