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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. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. scale — in music
  4. can — to be able to
  5. can — a tin
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. degree — from a university
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. content — the amount
  10. cell — in biology
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. can — a tin
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. hand — help
  15. cell — a phone
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. degree — temperature
  18. content — happy
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. hand — in cards
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. scale — size or range
  24. scale — for weighing

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