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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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. scale — size or range
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. hand — help
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. hand — in cards
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. temple — side of the head
  11. degree — an amount
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. degree — from a university
  17. bat — the animal
  18. scale — in music
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. degree — temperature
  24. stick — to attach or keep to

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