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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: mouse · wake · capital · degree · racket · swing · scale · club

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. scale — in music
  5. capital — money
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. club — for golf
  8. scale — size or range
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. capital — a city
  12. swing — music
  13. mouse — for a computer
  14. degree — temperature
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. club — a group
  17. club — for dancing
  18. swing — in golf
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. degree — from a university
  22. swing — to play on
  23. wake — a trail
  24. mouse — the animal

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