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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. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. track — a path
  3. bank — for money
  4. fine — all right
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. bank — of a river
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. ball — a great time
  9. wound — an injury
  10. bat — the animal
  11. wound — an injury
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. track — a song
  14. bank — for money
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. ball — a dance
  17. kid — child
  18. track — to keep track
  19. degree — temperature
  20. degree — from a university
  21. fine — high quality
  22. degree — an amount
  23. kid — to tease
  24. bat — in an idiom

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