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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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. track — to keep track
  3. scale — size or range
  4. court — of law
  5. rash — a series
  6. track — a path
  7. wax — to grow
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. court — of a king
  10. court — for sport
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. degree — from a university
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. rash — hasty
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. track — a song
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. degree — temperature
  20. scale — in music
  21. dip — to sink
  22. degree — an amount
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. rash — on the skin

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