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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. That must've been a ________________.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. Should I buy a wireless ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. degree — an amount
  3. track — a song
  4. track — to keep track
  5. cue — for pool
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. scale — size or range
  11. cue — a hint
  12. cue — a signal
  13. track — a path
  14. bat — the animal
  15. scale — in music
  16. degree — from a university
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. mine — for digging
  21. rush — hurry
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. degree — temperature
  24. mouse — for a computer

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