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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. degree — an amount
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. spring — the season
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. squash — the sport
  10. spring — a coil
  11. bat — the animal
  12. shower — to wash
  13. cue — a signal
  14. squash — to crush
  15. cue — for pool
  16. scale — in music
  17. lie — to recline
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. spring — of water
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. degree — temperature
  22. cue — a hint
  23. shower — rain
  24. scale — size or range

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