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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. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. cell — a phone
  5. degree — an amount
  6. lie — to recline
  7. sharp — clever
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. mate — to breed
  11. mate — a friend
  12. mate — a partner
  13. degree — from a university
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. degree — temperature
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. roll — a list
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. cell — in biology

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