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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. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. When will it ________________ you to start?
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. season — in sport
  3. suit — in cards
  4. bound — obliged
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. degree — an amount
  7. season — of the year
  8. court — of a king
  9. suit — to fit
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. suit — clothes
  12. court — of law
  13. fall — the season
  14. pit — in a race
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. bound — certain
  17. fall — to drop
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. fall — to drop
  20. bound — tied together
  21. pit — a hole
  22. degree — from a university
  23. deal — to handle
  24. degree — temperature

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