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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. degree — from a university
  3. hand — help
  4. rest — what's left
  5. hand — in cards
  6. lean — thin
  7. court — of law
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. toast — a drink to someone
  10. saw — the tool
  11. court — of a king
  12. toast — bread
  13. rest — a break
  14. lean — to bend
  15. saw — the tool
  16. toast — the most admired
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. rest — what's left
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. court — for sport
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. degree — temperature
  24. arm — a part of something

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