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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: stand · foot · bat · degree · content · rock · bay · scale

  1. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  10. My mare is ________________ in color.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. degree — an amount
  4. stand — for spectators
  5. content — the amount
  6. stand — to bear
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. foot — the bottom
  10. bay — a horse colour
  11. rock — a stone
  12. content — happy
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. bay — to keep at bay
  15. degree — temperature
  16. scale — size or range
  17. bay — a part of the sea
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. scale — in music
  22. foot — a measure
  23. degree — from a university
  24. bat — the animal

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