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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. object — a thing
  3. degree — from a university
  4. tube — the underground
  5. degree — temperature
  6. object — to protest
  7. degree — an amount
  8. kick — in football
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. object — an aim
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. hand — help
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. hand — in cards
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. bat — the animal
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. rest — what's left
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. tube — a container
  23. rest — what's left
  24. rest — a break

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