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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. rash — hasty
  3. cap — of ice
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. scale — in music
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. staff — employees
  10. chip — for betting
  11. staff — a stick
  12. scale — size or range
  13. ball — a dance
  14. staff — employees
  15. cap — a lid
  16. ball — a great time
  17. degree — temperature
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. degree — an amount
  20. chip — to eat
  21. cap — a hat
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. rash — a series
  24. chip — in a computer

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