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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. We're on a ________________ here.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. roll — on a roll
  3. march — the month
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. bear — the animal
  6. degree — from a university
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. capital — money
  9. bear — the animal
  10. court — of law
  11. march — music
  12. capital — a city
  13. roll — a list
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. degree — temperature
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. bowl — a dish
  19. court — of a king
  20. roll — a cake
  21. court — for sport
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. march — the month
  24. racket — for tennis

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