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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 116 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. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. court — for sport
  3. file — a tool
  4. staff — a stick
  5. degree — temperature
  6. file — a line of people
  7. court — of law
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. staff — employees
  10. rash — a series
  11. court — of a king
  12. hand — in cards
  13. degree — an amount
  14. season — of the year
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. pound — a weight
  17. file — a document
  18. season — in sport
  19. hand — help
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. rash — hasty
  22. staff — employees
  23. degree — from a university
  24. season — to add flavour

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