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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 120 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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. court — of a king
  3. degree — temperature
  4. kid — to tease
  5. object — a thing
  6. degree — from a university
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. present — there
  9. hand — in cards
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. last — final
  13. court — of law
  14. object — to protest
  15. last — finally
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. degree — an amount
  18. hand — help
  19. object — an aim
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. kid — child
  22. present — the time now
  23. court — for sport
  24. last — to go on

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