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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. Where did you ________________ them?
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  24. I'll take my ________________ from you.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. kid — to tease
  3. degree — temperature
  4. scale — in music
  5. scale — size or range
  6. mug — a cup
  7. firm — steady
  8. degree — from a university
  9. mug — a face
  10. rest — what's left
  11. firm — a company
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. firm — decided
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. kid — child
  17. mug — to rob
  18. rest — what's left
  19. rest — a break
  20. cue — for pool
  21. cold — an illness
  22. cold — not warm
  23. cue — a signal
  24. cue — a hint

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