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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. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. degree — temperature
  3. degree — an amount
  4. degree — from a university
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. pitch — completely
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. scale — size or range
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. lie — to recline
  13. sharp — clever
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. kid — to tease
  18. deal — to handle
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. kid — child
  23. scale — in music
  24. sharp — exactly

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