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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. degree — temperature
  3. dip — to sink
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. court — for sport
  6. degree — an amount
  7. wound — an injury
  8. shower — to wash
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. wound — an injury
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. degree — from a university
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. mouse — for a computer
  17. shower — rain
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. court — of law
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. cabinet — ministers

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