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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. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  16. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  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. court — of law
  2. game — a match
  3. shower — rain
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. saw — the tool
  6. scale — in music
  7. saw — the tool
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. scale — size or range
  10. degree — from a university
  11. court — for sport
  12. shower — to wash
  13. prune — to trim
  14. prune — to trim
  15. jam — in traffic
  16. jam — to spread on bread
  17. degree — an amount
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. game — wild animals
  20. degree — temperature
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. jam — a tight spot
  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