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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. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. My mare is ________________ in color.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. cue — a signal
  3. degree — an amount
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. bay — to keep at bay
  8. degree — from a university
  9. bay — a part of the sea
  10. chest — a box
  11. degree — temperature
  12. cue — a hint
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. kid — child
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. kid — to tease
  17. bay — a horse colour
  18. scale — in music
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. chest — of your body
  21. chest — of your body
  22. vault — a safe
  23. scale — size or range
  24. cue — for pool

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