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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. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. My mare is ________________ in color.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — to keep at bay
  2. court — of law
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. season — of the year
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. court — for sport
  8. degree — from a university
  9. dip — to sink
  10. bay — a horse colour
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. degree — temperature
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. degree — an amount
  16. cell — a phone
  17. cell — in biology
  18. court — of a king
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. season — in sport
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. stock — goods
  24. stock — shares

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