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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 newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  2. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. My mare is ________________ in color.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  23. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. foot — the bottom
  2. jam — to spread on bread
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. degree — temperature
  6. cell — in biology
  7. foot — a measure
  8. band — a ring
  9. bay — a horse colour
  10. cap — a hat
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. game — wild animals
  13. cell — a phone
  14. degree — an amount
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. bay — to keep at bay
  18. band — a music group
  19. cap — of ice
  20. game — a match
  21. degree — from a university
  22. jam — a tight spot
  23. jam — in traffic
  24. cap — a lid

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