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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. land — a country
  3. court — of law
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. fine — high quality
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. degree — an amount
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. track — a path
  11. track — a song
  12. ground — crushed
  13. ground — the earth
  14. ground — a position
  15. degree — temperature
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. court — of a king
  18. fine — all right
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. court — for sport
  21. track — to keep track
  22. land — to come down
  23. ruler — a monarch
  24. land — ground

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