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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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  8. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. What do you think of the new ________________?
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. When was this ________________ built?
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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. scale — size or range
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. cabinet — a cupboard
  8. temple — side of the head
  9. date — the fruit
  10. scale — in music
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. mate — to breed
  13. degree — from a university
  14. mate — a partner
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. cell — in biology
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. cell — a phone
  21. degree — temperature
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. mate — a friend

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