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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. cue — a signal
  3. degree — from a university
  4. kid — child
  5. file — a document
  6. cue — for pool
  7. degree — temperature
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. kid — to tease
  10. rash — a series
  11. cue — a hint
  12. cap — a hat
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. bound — certain
  15. file — a tool
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. bowl — a dish
  19. file — a line of people
  20. bound — obliged
  21. bound — tied together
  22. rash — hasty
  23. cap — a lid
  24. cap — of ice

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