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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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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 had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. net — after costs
  4. craft — boats
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. net — in sport
  7. kid — to tease
  8. pop — to visit
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. rule — a law
  12. degree — an amount
  13. net — for catching
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. pop — music
  16. craft — a skill
  17. degree — from a university
  18. degree — temperature
  19. pop — soda
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. bowl — a dish
  24. rule — government

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