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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. court — of law
  3. court — for sport
  4. degree — an amount
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. plane — a tool
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. tube — a container
  12. fine — high quality
  13. bark — to shout
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. tube — the underground
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. fine — all right
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. degree — from a university
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. date — the fruit
  23. degree — temperature
  24. court — of a king

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