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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. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. We're on a ________________ here.
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. degree — temperature
  3. degree — from a university
  4. foot — part of the body
  5. wound — an injury
  6. wound — an injury
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. pop — to visit
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. foot — the bottom
  11. band — a music group
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. roll — a cake
  15. pop — soda
  16. roll — on a roll
  17. roll — a list
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. degree — an amount
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. band — a ring
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. pop — music
  24. racket — for tennis

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