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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. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  2. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. degree — an amount
  4. club — for dancing
  5. cap — of ice
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. club — a group
  8. wound — an injury
  9. cap — a hat
  10. degree — temperature
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. spring — of water
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. spring — the season
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. bear — the animal
  19. spring — a coil
  20. degree — from a university
  21. club — for golf
  22. bear — the animal
  23. wound — an injury
  24. cap — a lid

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