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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. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. pop — soda
  4. degree — temperature
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. stand — to bear
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. ball — a dance
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. pop — to visit
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. mine — for digging
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. stand — on your feet
  17. ball — a great time
  18. degree — an amount
  19. degree — from a university
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. mouse — for a computer
  24. pop — music

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