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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. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. pound — a weight
  3. ball — a great time
  4. cap — a lid
  5. cap — of ice
  6. craft — boats
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. game — a match
  9. degree — an amount
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. degree — temperature
  17. craft — a skill
  18. prune — to trim
  19. ball — a dance
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. degree — from a university
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. prune — to trim
  24. game — wild animals

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