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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. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — in music
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. vault — a safe
  5. bass — low music
  6. bass — the fish
  7. land — to come down
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. degree — from a university
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. land — ground
  12. leaves — to go away
  13. degree — an amount
  14. scale — size or range
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. mine — for digging
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. land — a country
  24. degree — temperature

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