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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. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. We're on a ________________ here.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  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. rock — to move gently
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. court — of a king
  5. race — the arms race
  6. branch — a division
  7. roll — on a roll
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. degree — temperature
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. degree — an amount
  13. roll — a list
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. file — a line of people
  16. rock — a stone
  17. rock — music
  18. file — a document
  19. race — humankind
  20. roll — a cake
  21. race — a contest
  22. file — a tool
  23. degree — from a university
  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