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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. My mare is ________________ in color.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. degree — an amount
  3. bay — to keep at bay
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. bay — a horse colour
  12. track — a path
  13. mouse — for a computer
  14. fine — high quality
  15. fine — all right
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. stem — to come from
  18. track — a song
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. track — to keep track
  21. bay — a part of the sea
  22. deal — to handle
  23. degree — temperature
  24. stem — of a plant

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