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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. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a trace
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. pit — a hole
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. degree — from a university
  6. mark — a grade
  7. wound — an injury
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. pit — in a race
  11. scale — in music
  12. degree — an amount
  13. rush — hurry
  14. cell — a phone
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. track — to keep track
  17. track — a path
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. cell — in biology
  20. track — a song
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. degree — temperature
  23. wound — an injury
  24. scale — size or range

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