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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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. fine — high quality
  3. object — to protest
  4. cap — a hat
  5. wake — a trail
  6. object — a thing
  7. object — an aim
  8. degree — from a university
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. cap — of ice
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. degree — an amount
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. scale — size or range
  16. cap — a lid
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. degree — temperature
  22. scale — in music
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. mine — for digging

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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