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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. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. degree — an amount
  3. object — a thing
  4. object — to protest
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. mark — a trace
  7. saw — the tool
  8. current — electric
  9. deal — to handle
  10. mark — a grade
  11. saw — the tool
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. current — happening now
  14. court — of law
  15. perch — the fish
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. degree — temperature
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. object — an aim
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. current — of water
  23. court — of a king
  24. degree — from a university

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