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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. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  2. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. I can't ________________ this cold.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  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. stand — for spectators
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. cell — a phone
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. mark — a trace
  6. mark — a grade
  7. branch — a division
  8. stand — to bear
  9. degree — temperature
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. cell — in biology
  15. ball — a dance
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. cold — not warm
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. degree — from a university
  22. ball — a great time
  23. cold — an illness
  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