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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. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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. kid — to tease
  4. court — of a king
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. kid — child
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. mate — a partner
  11. board — to get on
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. board — a committee
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. mate — to breed
  16. season — in sport
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. degree — from a university
  19. degree — temperature
  20. season — of the year
  21. court — of law
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. mate — a friend

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