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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. club — for dancing
  3. present — the time now
  4. degree — from a university
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. court — of law
  7. degree — an amount
  8. court — for sport
  9. present — a gift
  10. court — of a king
  11. degree — temperature
  12. current — of water
  13. present — there
  14. current — happening now
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. club — for golf
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. pit — a hole
  19. club — a group
  20. current — electric
  21. stem — to come from
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. pit — in a race

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