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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 120 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 are we going to ________________?
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. mate — a partner
  3. court — of a king
  4. degree — temperature
  5. cap — a lid
  6. degree — an amount
  7. fall — the season
  8. mate — a friend
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. land — a country
  11. mate — to breed
  12. fall — to drop
  13. fine — all right
  14. court — for sport
  15. degree — from a university
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. cap — of ice
  20. fine — high quality
  21. fall — to drop
  22. land — ground
  23. cap — a hat
  24. court — of law

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