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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. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. spell — magic
  3. content — the amount
  4. kid — child
  5. degree — an amount
  6. court — of law
  7. spell — letters
  8. toast — the most admired
  9. court — for sport
  10. prune — to trim
  11. degree — temperature
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. content — happy
  14. court — of a king
  15. ball — a dance
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. spell — a short time
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. toast — a drink to someone
  20. prune — to trim
  21. kid — to tease
  22. ball — a great time
  23. degree — from a university
  24. toast — bread

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