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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. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. scale — in music
  2. pop — to visit
  3. lean — thin
  4. degree — from a university
  5. content — happy
  6. season — in sport
  7. wind — moving air
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. season — of the year
  10. degree — temperature
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. lean — to bend
  14. wind — moving air
  15. scale — size or range
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. pop — music
  20. dip — to sink
  21. content — the amount
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. pop — soda
  24. degree — an amount

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