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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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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: track · hand · lie · ball · degree · capital · scale · pitcher

  1. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. lie — to recline
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. scale — size or range
  6. hand — in cards
  7. track — a song
  8. capital — money
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. degree — from a university
  14. scale — in music
  15. degree — temperature
  16. ball — a great time
  17. hand — help
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. track — to keep track
  21. capital — a city
  22. degree — an amount
  23. ball — a dance
  24. lie — an untruth

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