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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. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. drill — a practice
  3. degree — an amount
  4. degree — from a university
  5. court — for sport
  6. game — wild animals
  7. can — a tin
  8. degree — temperature
  9. mine — for digging
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. court — of a king
  13. can — to be able to
  14. drill — the tool
  15. mate — a friend
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. mate — to breed
  19. can — a tin
  20. drill — army training
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. mate — a partner
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. game — a match

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