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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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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. cap — a hat
  3. bat — the animal
  4. cap — of ice
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. degree — an amount
  7. bark — to shout
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. chip — for betting
  10. degree — from a university
  11. cap — a lid
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. mark — a grade
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. net — after costs
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. net — for catching
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. chip — to eat
  21. degree — temperature
  22. mark — a trace
  23. net — in sport
  24. bat — in an idiom

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