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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. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — in music
  2. degree — an amount
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. degree — from a university
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. content — happy
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. degree — temperature
  13. content — the amount
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. scale — size or range
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. fan — a supporter

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