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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 ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. Where did you ________________ them?
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. rest — what's left
  3. rest — a break
  4. degree — temperature
  5. vault — a safe
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. degree — an amount
  8. mug — to rob
  9. ball — a great time
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. court — for sport
  12. rest — what's left
  13. ball — a dance
  14. mug — a cup
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. court — of a king
  19. pit — in a race
  20. mug — a face
  21. wound — an injury
  22. pit — a hole
  23. wound — an injury
  24. degree — from a university

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