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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 120 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 ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. degree — an amount
  3. degree — temperature
  4. fall — the season
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. craft — boats
  7. swing — to play on
  8. ball — a great time
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. fall — to drop
  11. craft — a skill
  12. wax — to grow
  13. swing — music
  14. swing — in golf
  15. degree — from a university
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. bat — the animal
  20. ball — a dance
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. fall — to drop
  24. pitcher — a jug

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