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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. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a grade
  2. court — for sport
  3. spring — a coil
  4. degree — from a university
  5. spring — of water
  6. chip — to eat
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. scale — size or range
  10. mark — a trace
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. track — a song
  13. pit — a hole
  14. degree — temperature
  15. track — to keep track
  16. scale — in music
  17. court — of law
  18. track — a path
  19. court — of a king
  20. pit — in a race
  21. spring — the season
  22. chip — for betting
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. degree — an amount

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