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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. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. degree — an amount
  3. can — a tin
  4. can — to be able to
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. key — the most important part
  7. bass — low music
  8. tube — the underground
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. scale — size or range
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. key — in music
  14. degree — from a university
  15. bass — the fish
  16. file — a line of people
  17. can — a tin
  18. file — a tool
  19. scale — in music
  20. file — a document
  21. key — for a lock
  22. tube — a container
  23. degree — temperature
  24. racket — for tennis

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