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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.

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: tear · mouse · track · court · charge · capital · scale · degree

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. charge — a price
  4. track — to keep track
  5. track — a path
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. degree — from a university
  8. degree — an amount
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. court — of law
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. court — of a king
  13. charge — electricity
  14. scale — in music
  15. court — for sport
  16. tear — to rip
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. tear — from crying
  19. capital — money
  20. scale — size or range
  21. tear — from crying
  22. track — a song
  23. degree — temperature
  24. charge — in control

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