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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.

Make a worksheet

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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. degree — an amount
  3. track — a song
  4. degree — temperature
  5. scale — size or range
  6. clip — for paper
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. net — for catching
  10. scale — in music
  11. court — of law
  12. net — after costs
  13. track — a path
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. clip — to cut
  16. net — in sport
  17. court — for sport
  18. degree — from a university
  19. clip — a video
  20. mine — for digging
  21. court — of a king
  22. wind — moving air
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. track — to keep track

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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