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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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. We're on a ________________ here.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. I can't ________________ this cold.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. degree — from a university
  3. wind — moving air
  4. wind — moving air
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. roll — on a roll
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. ball — a dance
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. scale — size or range
  12. chip — to eat
  13. chip — for betting
  14. degree — an amount
  15. degree — temperature
  16. stand — on your feet
  17. roll — a list
  18. prune — to trim
  19. roll — a cake
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. scale — in music
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. prune — to trim
  24. stand — to bear

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