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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. cue — a hint
  3. court — of a king
  4. degree — from a university
  5. cue — for pool
  6. current — electric
  7. cue — a signal
  8. court — of law
  9. current — of water
  10. degree — temperature
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. court — for sport
  13. sharp — clever
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. row — a line
  18. object — a thing
  19. object — to protest
  20. current — happening now
  21. degree — an amount
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. row — to paddle
  24. object — an aim

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