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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 116 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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. rest — what's left
  3. hand — help
  4. rest — what's left
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. club — a group
  7. pit — a hole
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. hand — in cards
  10. rest — a break
  11. club — for dancing
  12. degree — an amount
  13. degree — from a university
  14. land — a country
  15. mark — a trace
  16. land — to come down
  17. degree — temperature
  18. club — for golf
  19. ball — a dance
  20. pit — in a race
  21. mark — a grade
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. ball — a great time
  24. land — ground

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