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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. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. When was this ________________ built?
  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. pop — soda
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. degree — an amount
  4. ground — a position
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. pop — to visit
  8. degree — temperature
  9. bat — the animal
  10. season — in sport
  11. season — of the year
  12. pop — music
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. ground — crushed
  15. court — of a king
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. ground — the earth
  18. court — for sport
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. court — of law
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. temple — a place of worship
  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