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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 ball is in your ________________.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. degree — an amount
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. file — a line of people
  9. court — of a king
  10. file — a document
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. degree — from a university
  13. swing — in golf
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. dip — to sink
  16. degree — temperature
  17. file — a tool
  18. swing — to play on
  19. swing — music
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. court — of law
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. wave — of the sea

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