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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. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  10. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. court — of law
  3. cap — a lid
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. degree — temperature
  6. firm — a company
  7. sharp — clever
  8. mate — a partner
  9. roll — a cake
  10. firm — decided
  11. mate — to breed
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. wind — moving air
  14. wind — moving air
  15. roll — a list
  16. mate — a friend
  17. court — for sport
  18. cap — of ice
  19. degree — from a university
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. degree — an amount
  22. firm — steady
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. court — of a king

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