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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 120 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. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. mate — a friend
  3. ball — a dance
  4. degree — an amount
  5. degree — temperature
  6. game — wild animals
  7. mate — to breed
  8. game — a match
  9. pop — music
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. clip — a video
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. degree — from a university
  16. mate — a partner
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. clip — to cut
  19. bear — the animal
  20. bear — the animal
  21. pop — to visit
  22. clip — for paper
  23. pop — soda
  24. ball — a great time

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