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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. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — in music
  2. pop — music
  3. degree — temperature
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. club — for dancing
  6. degree — from a university
  7. chest — of your body
  8. chest — of your body
  9. degree — an amount
  10. face — to point toward
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. pop — to visit
  15. scale — size or range
  16. face — part of the head
  17. club — a group
  18. club — for golf
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. pop — soda
  21. cold — not warm
  22. chest — a box
  23. face — to confront
  24. cold — an illness

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