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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 116 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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. fall — to drop
  4. court — of a king
  5. fall — to drop
  6. row — to paddle
  7. degree — from a university
  8. file — a tool
  9. file — a line of people
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. court — for sport
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. season — of the year
  15. degree — temperature
  16. fall — the season
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. row — a line
  19. chip — to eat
  20. season — in sport
  21. chip — for betting
  22. file — a document
  23. degree — an amount
  24. season — to add flavour

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