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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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. wind — moving air
  3. foot — the bottom
  4. degree — from a university
  5. foot — a measure
  6. degree — an amount
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. wind — moving air
  10. land — to come down
  11. land — ground
  12. land — a country
  13. ball — a dance
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. degree — temperature
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. last — finally
  19. last — final
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. bat — the animal
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. last — to go on

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