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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. When will it ________________ you to start?
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. suit — in cards
  3. scale — in music
  4. suit — to fit
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. clip — to cut
  7. track — a path
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. pop — soda
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. degree — temperature
  12. pop — music
  13. track — to keep track
  14. lie — to recline
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. suit — clothes
  17. track — a song
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. clip — for paper
  20. pop — to visit
  21. degree — from a university
  22. clip — a video
  23. scale — size or range
  24. lie — an untruth

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