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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. degree — temperature
  3. ball — a great time
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. hand — in cards
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. last — finally
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. last — to go on
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. mark — a trace
  13. mark — a grade
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. hand — help
  20. ball — a dance
  21. last — final
  22. degree — from a university
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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