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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 King held a masked ________________.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. content — happy
  6. degree — an amount
  7. scale — size or range
  8. vault — a safe
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. content — the amount
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. degree — temperature
  14. degree — from a university
  15. ground — a position
  16. scale — in music
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. ground — crushed
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. ground — the earth
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. ball — a great time
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. nail — for a hammer

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