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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 116 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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. scale — size or range
  3. cell — in biology
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. ground — a position
  6. scale — in music
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. degree — temperature
  9. kid — to tease
  10. vault — a safe
  11. degree — an amount
  12. degree — from a university
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. ground — the earth
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. bore — to tire
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. cell — a phone
  19. fork — in a road
  20. bore — to drill
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. ground — crushed
  24. cell — in a prison

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