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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 116 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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. fine — high quality
  4. scale — in music
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. wake — a trail
  8. scale — size or range
  9. fine — all right
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. wind — moving air
  14. degree — an amount
  15. degree — from a university
  16. content — the amount
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. saw — the tool
  20. content — happy
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. wind — moving air
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. degree — temperature

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