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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. degree — an amount
  3. bound — tied together
  4. court — for sport
  5. court — of law
  6. swing — music
  7. can — a tin
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. can — a tin
  10. bound — obliged
  11. swing — in golf
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. degree — from a university
  14. swing — to play on
  15. bound — certain
  16. wake — a trail
  17. court — of a king
  18. degree — temperature
  19. can — to be able to
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. wind — moving air
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. wind — moving air

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