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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. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  3. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. He has no idea where the ________________ is.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. wind — moving air
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. game — wild animals
  9. game — a match
  10. hand — help
  11. hand — in cards
  12. degree — temperature
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. bear — the animal
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. bear — the animal
  18. degree — from a university
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. wind — moving air
  24. safe — a strongbox

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