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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. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  14. When was this ________________ built?
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. degree — from a university
  3. spell — magic
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. season — of the year
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. court — of a king
  8. season — in sport
  9. bore — to drill
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. temple — side of the head
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. field — a subject
  16. degree — an amount
  17. bore — to tire
  18. spell — letters
  19. spell — a short time
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. degree — temperature
  22. field — farmland
  23. court — for sport
  24. field — for sport

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