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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. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  12. When was this ________________ built?
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. cue — a hint
  4. court — of a king
  5. court — of law
  6. court — for sport
  7. cue — a signal
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. degree — temperature
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. cue — for pool
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. degree — from a university
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. bat — the animal
  21. deal — to handle
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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