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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. degree — temperature
  3. tube — the underground
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. degree — from a university
  6. cell — in biology
  7. tube — a container
  8. hand — in cards
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. bass — the fish
  11. club — for dancing
  12. degree — an amount
  13. fall — to drop
  14. club — a group
  15. fall — the season
  16. cell — a phone
  17. bass — low music
  18. club — for golf
  19. hand — help
  20. court — of a king
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. fall — to drop
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. court — for sport

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