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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 120 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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. My mare is ________________ in color.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. degree — an amount
  3. court — of law
  4. degree — temperature
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. pop — music
  7. mate — a friend
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. pop — soda
  10. mate — to breed
  11. court — for sport
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. rash — hasty
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. game — wild animals
  17. game — a match
  18. mate — a partner
  19. court — of a king
  20. rash — a series
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. pop — to visit
  24. bay — a horse colour

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