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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 ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. game — a match
  4. degree — temperature
  5. march — the month
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. game — wild animals
  8. march — music
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. rock — music
  11. degree — from a university
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. march — the month
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. rock — a stone
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. dip — to sink
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. degree — an amount

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