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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. degree — an amount
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. spell — letters
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. kid — child
  8. cap — of ice
  9. degree — from a university
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. ruler — a monarch
  15. spell — a short time
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. mouse — for a computer
  19. cap — a lid
  20. spell — magic
  21. cap — a hat
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. degree — temperature

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