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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. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. court — of a king
  3. degree — from a university
  4. game — wild animals
  5. court — for sport
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. degree — temperature
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. game — a match
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. degree — an amount
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. court — of law
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. pitcher — in baseball

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