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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. Tom got himself in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. degree — an amount
  3. bound — certain
  4. scale — size or range
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. jam — in traffic
  7. stem — to come from
  8. jam — to spread on bread
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. bound — obliged
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. bat — the animal
  14. shower — rain
  15. degree — temperature
  16. bound — tied together
  17. rest — what's left
  18. scale — in music
  19. shower — to wash
  20. rest — what's left
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. degree — from a university
  23. rest — a break
  24. jam — a tight spot

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