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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 120 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. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. degree — an amount
  5. pop — to visit
  6. ball — a dance
  7. ball — a great time
  8. squash — the sport
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. spell — a short time
  11. degree — from a university
  12. spell — magic
  13. sharp — clever
  14. rest — what's left
  15. kid — child
  16. degree — temperature
  17. rest — what's left
  18. squash — to crush
  19. spell — letters
  20. pop — music
  21. rest — a break
  22. pop — soda
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. sharp — with an edge

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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