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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. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a trace
  2. ball — a dance
  3. wind — moving air
  4. roll — a cake
  5. pop — to visit
  6. degree — temperature
  7. wind — moving air
  8. pop — music
  9. present — a gift
  10. degree — an amount
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. roll — a list
  13. mark — a grade
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. degree — from a university
  16. present — the time now
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. date — the fruit
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. ball — a great time
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. present — there
  24. pop — soda

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