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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. What do you think of the new ________________?
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. cabinet — a cupboard
  4. degree — an amount
  5. kid — child
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. tube — the underground
  8. tube — a container
  9. object — to protest
  10. race — humankind
  11. race — the arms race
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. court — for sport
  14. race — a contest
  15. court — of law
  16. object — an aim
  17. bass — low music
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. bass — the fish
  20. degree — temperature
  21. object — a thing
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. court — of a king
  24. degree — from a university

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