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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. Where did you ________________ them?
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. race — a contest
  3. mug — to rob
  4. degree — from a university
  5. foot — the bottom
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. foot — a measure
  8. mug — a cup
  9. file — a line of people
  10. spell — a short time
  11. degree — an amount
  12. degree — temperature
  13. file — a tool
  14. row — to paddle
  15. row — a line
  16. foot — part of the body
  17. race — the arms race
  18. mug — a face
  19. file — a document
  20. spell — magic
  21. spell — letters
  22. court — for sport
  23. race — humankind
  24. court — of a king

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