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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 university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  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. degree — from a university
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. dip — to sink
  4. hand — help
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. cell — in biology
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. mouse — for a computer
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. fine — all right
  15. hand — in cards
  16. fine — high quality
  17. degree — temperature
  18. band — a music group
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. cell — a phone
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. band — a ring
  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