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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. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. Where did you ________________ them?
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — a stone
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. mug — to rob
  4. mate — to breed
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. rock — music
  7. rash — hasty
  8. bat — the animal
  9. degree — from a university
  10. degree — an amount
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. rash — a series
  13. degree — temperature
  14. scale — size or range
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. mug — a face
  17. ground — a position
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. mate — a friend
  20. mate — a partner
  21. mug — a cup
  22. ground — crushed
  23. ground — the earth
  24. scale — in music

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