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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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: bay · degree · pop · scale · cell · clip · track · hand

  1. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. My mare is ________________ in color.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — in music
  2. hand — in cards
  3. track — to keep track
  4. degree — an amount
  5. bay — to keep at bay
  6. hand — help
  7. track — a path
  8. degree — temperature
  9. cell — in biology
  10. degree — from a university
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. clip — to cut
  13. cell — a phone
  14. track — a song
  15. pop — soda
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. pop — to visit
  18. bay — a part of the sea
  19. pop — music
  20. clip — for paper
  21. bay — a horse colour
  22. scale — size or range
  23. clip — a video
  24. scale — for weighing

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