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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 116 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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. ball — a dance
  3. degree — from a university
  4. cap — a hat
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. cap — of ice
  7. stand — on your feet
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. fine — all right
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. cap — a lid
  13. degree — temperature
  14. stand — to bear
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. ball — a great time
  17. degree — an amount
  18. ball — a round shape

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