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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. degree — an amount
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. ball — a great time
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. cap — a hat
  8. degree — temperature
  9. ball — a dance
  10. bat — the animal
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. cap — of ice
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. race — the arms race
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. race — a contest
  18. cell — in biology
  19. cap — a lid
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. degree — from a university
  22. cell — a phone
  23. mouse — for a computer
  24. race — humankind

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