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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. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — in music
  2. lean — to bend
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. land — to come down
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. land — a country
  8. content — the amount
  9. degree — temperature
  10. lean — thin
  11. drill — the tool
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. bat — the animal
  15. scale — size or range
  16. degree — an amount
  17. content — happy
  18. land — ground
  19. drill — a practice
  20. degree — from a university
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. ruler — a monarch
  23. drill — army training
  24. ruler — for measuring

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