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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. court — of a king
  4. degree — an amount
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. face — to point toward
  7. ball — a great time
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. face — part of the head
  10. band — a ring
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. court — of law
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. degree — from a university
  17. squash — to crush
  18. band — a music group
  19. face — to confront
  20. squash — the sport
  21. court — for sport
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. ball — a dance

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