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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: leaves · degree · cap · clip · land · scale · racket · suit

  1. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. When will it ________________ you to start?
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. degree — temperature
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. clip — to cut
  6. suit — in cards
  7. land — ground
  8. land — to come down
  9. scale — in music
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. suit — clothes
  12. degree — from a university
  13. cap — a hat
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. degree — an amount
  16. suit — to fit
  17. cap — of ice
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. clip — a video
  20. clip — for paper
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. scale — size or range
  24. cap — a lid

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