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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 124 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 ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. degree — from a university
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. pop — to visit
  9. degree — temperature
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. temple — side of the head
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. degree — an amount
  15. pop — music
  16. drill — army training
  17. bark — to shout
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. bat — the animal
  20. drill — a practice
  21. ball — a dance
  22. pop — soda
  23. drill — the tool
  24. ball — a great time

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