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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 120 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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. degree — from a university
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. pound — a weight
  5. track — a song
  6. rock — a stone
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. court — of law
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. degree — temperature
  12. track — a path
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. scale — size or range
  18. rock — music
  19. snap — to click
  20. court — of a king
  21. court — for sport
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. track — to keep track
  24. scale — in music

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