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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 116 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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. degree — from a university
  5. march — music
  6. march — the month
  7. court — for sport
  8. fine — high quality
  9. hand — help
  10. tube — a container
  11. fine — all right
  12. cell — a phone
  13. march — the month
  14. cell — in biology
  15. court — of law
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. mouse — for a computer
  19. degree — temperature
  20. degree — an amount
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. hand — in cards
  24. tube — the underground

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