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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. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — to spread on bread
  2. sharp — clever
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. spell — magic
  5. degree — from a university
  6. spell — letters
  7. ball — a dance
  8. ball — a great time
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. tube — the underground
  11. kid — to tease
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. jam — a tight spot
  14. spell — a short time
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. kid — child
  17. saw — the tool
  18. tube — a container
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. saw — the tool
  21. jam — in traffic
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. degree — an amount
  24. degree — temperature

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