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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: cap · staff · degree · kid · squash · ball · bowl · spring

  1. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. staff — a stick
  3. cap — a lid
  4. cap — a hat
  5. spring — a coil
  6. degree — temperature
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. cap — of ice
  9. ball — a great time
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. staff — employees
  12. degree — from a university
  13. spring — the season
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. degree — an amount
  16. kid — to tease
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. kid — child
  20. squash — the sport
  21. ball — a dance
  22. spring — of water
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. squash — to crush

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