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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. hand — in cards
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. court — of a king
  5. stick — to attach or keep to
  6. court — for sport
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. degree — temperature
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. fork — in a road
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. wake — a trail
  13. court — of law
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. degree — an amount
  17. bear — the animal
  18. season — in sport
  19. hand — help
  20. bear — the animal
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. degree — from a university
  23. season — of the year
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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