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

  1. That was a fun ________________.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. I can't ________________ this cold.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. saw — the tool
  4. degree — an amount
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. rush — hurry
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. stand — to bear
  11. saw — the tool
  12. game — wild animals
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. degree — from a university
  15. cell — in biology
  16. scale — in music
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. degree — temperature
  20. cell — a phone
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. stand — on your feet
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. scale — size or range

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