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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 120 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: pitcher · scale · track · wind · leaves · firm · degree · last

  1. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — of a tree
  2. last — final
  3. scale — in music
  4. scale — size or range
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. track — a song
  10. wind — moving air
  11. track — a path
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. wind — moving air
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. firm — steady
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. degree — an amount
  18. degree — from a university
  19. firm — decided
  20. last — finally
  21. last — to go on
  22. firm — a company
  23. degree — temperature
  24. track — to keep track

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