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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  13. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. kid — child
  4. bat — the animal
  5. roll — a cake
  6. degree — temperature
  7. clip — a video
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. kid — to tease
  12. firm — a company
  13. firm — decided
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. clip — to cut
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. firm — steady
  18. clip — for paper
  19. roll — a list
  20. foot — the bottom
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. foot — a measure
  24. degree — an amount

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