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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 need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — to handle
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. mate — a friend
  4. mate — a partner
  5. cold — an illness
  6. degree — temperature
  7. degree — from a university
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. cold — not warm
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. kid — child
  14. band — a ring
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. kid — to tease
  17. vault — a safe
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. degree — an amount
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. band — a music group
  24. mate — to breed

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