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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 ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. mate — a friend
  5. fine — all right
  6. mate — a partner
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. degree — an amount
  9. board — a committee
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. degree — from a university
  12. board — to get on
  13. tube — the underground
  14. game — wild animals
  15. court — for sport
  16. tube — a container
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. game — a match
  19. mate — to breed
  20. fine — a penalty
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. fine — high quality
  23. court — of a king
  24. degree — temperature

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