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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 116 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. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. The tickets are free of ________________.
  13. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. cap — of ice
  4. degree — temperature
  5. pitch — completely
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. scale — size or range
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. kid — child
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. kid — to tease
  12. charge — a price
  13. charge — in control
  14. cap — a lid
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. scale — in music
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. cap — a hat
  22. charge — electricity
  23. degree — from a university
  24. stem — to come from

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