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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 112 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. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. degree — temperature
  6. shower — to wash
  7. degree — an amount
  8. present — there
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. game — a match
  11. mouse — for a computer
  12. shower — rain
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. present — a gift
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. present — the time now
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. degree — from a university
  21. stem — to come from
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. deal — to handle
  24. game — wild animals

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