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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 120 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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. craft — boats
  3. degree — temperature
  4. degree — an amount
  5. ball — a great time
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. scale — size or range
  8. scale — in music
  9. craft — a skill
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. cap — of ice
  14. squash — the sport
  15. pop — music
  16. cap — a hat
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. squash — to crush
  19. cap — a lid
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. pop — soda
  23. pop — to visit
  24. ball — a dance

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