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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. court — of law
  3. can — to be able to
  4. rest — what's left
  5. pit — a hole
  6. season — in sport
  7. degree — from a university
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. capital — money
  10. court — for sport
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. degree — an amount
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. capital — a city
  15. rest — a break
  16. degree — temperature
  17. can — a tin
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. can — a tin
  20. pit — in a race
  21. season — of the year
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. rest — what's left
  24. trunk — of a tree

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