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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 116 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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. game — a match
  3. rest — what's left
  4. rest — a break
  5. degree — temperature
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. ball — a dance
  8. cap — a hat
  9. degree — an amount
  10. squash — the sport
  11. ball — a great time
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. squash — to crush
  14. game — wild animals
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. vault — a safe
  17. cap — a lid
  18. rest — what's left
  19. cap — of ice
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. dip — to sink
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. dip — a sauce

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