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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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. fine — all right
  3. cell — a phone
  4. ball — a dance
  5. cell — in biology
  6. degree — from a university
  7. lean — thin
  8. fine — high quality
  9. pop — to visit
  10. pop — music
  11. degree — an amount
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. pop — soda
  15. degree — temperature
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. board — a committee
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. ball — a great time
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. board — a flat piece
  22. board — to get on
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. bat — the animal

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