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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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. degree — an amount
  3. kid — to tease
  4. degree — temperature
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. mate — a partner
  9. saw — the tool
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. date — the fruit
  13. rush — hurry
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. kid — child
  19. mate — a friend
  20. saw — the tool
  21. bat — the animal
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. mate — to breed
  24. degree — from a university

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