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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. mark — a grade
  3. bore — to drill
  4. court — of a king
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. bore — to tire
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. court — of law
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. last — to go on
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. last — finally
  15. court — for sport
  16. degree — from a university
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. mark — a trace
  19. degree — temperature
  20. last — final
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. bat — the animal

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