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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 kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — for weighing
  2. kick — in football
  3. last — final
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. degree — temperature
  6. scale — in music
  7. ball — a dance
  8. wound — an injury
  9. bat — the animal
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. ball — a great time
  12. last — to go on
  13. degree — from a university
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. last — finally
  17. court — of law
  18. court — for sport
  19. scale — size or range
  20. court — of a king
  21. degree — an amount
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. wound — an injury

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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