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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. fall — the season
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. can — a tin
  6. ball — a dance
  7. ball — a great time
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. degree — temperature
  10. fall — to drop
  11. can — a tin
  12. degree — from a university
  13. can — to be able to
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. fall — to drop
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. bat — the animal
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. degree — an amount

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