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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. degree — temperature
  4. squash — the sport
  5. tear — to rip
  6. degree — from a university
  7. court — of law
  8. staff — employees
  9. staff — employees
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. tear — from crying
  13. court — for sport
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. tear — from crying
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. wound — an injury
  18. kick — in football
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. court — of a king
  21. squash — to crush
  22. staff — a stick
  23. wound — an injury
  24. degree — an amount

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