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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. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a trace
  2. band — a music group
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. court — of a king
  6. court — of law
  7. shower — to wash
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. court — for sport
  11. stock — shares
  12. mark — a grade
  13. chair — a leader
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. stock — goods
  16. band — a ring
  17. snap — to click
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. shower — rain
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. degree — from a university
  22. degree — temperature
  23. degree — an amount
  24. chair — to sit on

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