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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. court — for sport
  3. degree — an amount
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. degree — temperature
  7. deal — to handle
  8. face — to confront
  9. face — to point toward
  10. court — of a king
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. face — part of the head
  14. cell — a phone
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. saw — the tool
  17. court — of law
  18. toast — a drink to someone
  19. degree — from a university
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. toast — the most admired
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. toast — bread
  24. cell — in biology

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