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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. This piece is in a major ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?

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

Answer key

  1. key — in music
  2. kid — to tease
  3. degree — an amount
  4. kid — child
  5. fall — to drop
  6. fall — the season
  7. degree — from a university
  8. craft — boats
  9. court — of law
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. degree — temperature
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. key — the most important part
  14. cap — a lid
  15. stock — shares
  16. craft — a skill
  17. court — for sport
  18. cap — a hat
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. stock — goods
  21. court — of a king
  22. fall — to drop
  23. cap — of ice
  24. key — for a lock

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