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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. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — in music
  2. fall — to drop
  3. degree — from a university
  4. object — a thing
  5. ball — a dance
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. fall — to drop
  10. sharp — clever
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. ball — a great time
  13. degree — an amount
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. object — an aim
  18. wave — with your hand
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. scale — size or range
  21. fall — the season
  22. object — to protest
  23. kick — in football
  24. degree — temperature

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