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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 King held a masked ________________.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. ball — a dance
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. root — of a word
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. bat — the animal
  9. race — the arms race
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. degree — temperature
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. race — humankind
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. ball — a great time
  16. degree — from a university
  17. root — of a plant
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. race — a contest
  20. root — the cause
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. coach — a trainer

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