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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  3. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. mug — a cup
  3. mug — a face
  4. spell — a short time
  5. kick — in football
  6. tear — from crying
  7. cap — a lid
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. spell — magic
  10. tear — to rip
  11. degree — temperature
  12. cap — of ice
  13. tear — from crying
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. bass — the fish
  17. bass — low music
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. mug — to rob
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. degree — from a university
  23. spell — letters
  24. cap — a hat

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