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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. charge — a price
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. jam — in traffic
  7. season — in sport
  8. jam — a tight spot
  9. kid — to tease
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. degree — from a university
  12. cell — in biology
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. charge — electricity
  16. kid — child
  17. degree — temperature
  18. charge — in control
  19. cell — a phone
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. bat — the animal
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. jam — to spread on bread
  24. season — of the year

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