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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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. kid — child
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. net — for catching
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. branch — a division
  8. capital — a city
  9. scale — in music
  10. net — after costs
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. degree — an amount
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. degree — temperature
  16. wake — a trail
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. capital — money
  20. kid — to tease
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. degree — from a university
  24. net — in sport

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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