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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  4. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. ruler — a monarch
  5. club — for golf
  6. bass — the fish
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. hand — help
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. degree — from a university
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. hand — in cards
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. bass — low music
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. degree — temperature
  22. club — for dancing
  23. club — a group
  24. fork — in a road

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