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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 124 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 kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — for weighing
  2. bass — low music
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. spring — of water
  5. field — for sport
  6. field — a subject
  7. degree — an amount
  8. scale — size or range
  9. can — a tin
  10. spring — the season
  11. can — to be able to
  12. spring — a coil
  13. can — a tin
  14. field — farmland
  15. bass — the fish
  16. key — for a lock
  17. key — in music
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. degree — temperature
  20. key — the most important part
  21. degree — from a university
  22. game — a match
  23. scale — in music
  24. game — wild animals

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