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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 little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. When was this ________________ built?
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  12. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. degree — an amount
  3. game — wild animals
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. court — of a king
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. temple — side of the head
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. perch — the fish
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. degree — temperature
  19. court — of law
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. game — a match
  22. bear — the animal
  23. degree — from a university
  24. court — 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