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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 ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. content — the amount
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. game — a match
  5. ground — the earth
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. ground — a position
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. ground — crushed
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. degree — from a university
  12. wake — a trail
  13. kid — child
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. degree — an amount
  17. degree — temperature
  18. content — happy
  19. kid — to tease
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. bat — the animal
  24. game — wild animals

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