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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. court — of law
  5. rock — a stone
  6. court — for sport
  7. degree — temperature
  8. rock — music
  9. degree — an amount
  10. rash — a series
  11. court — of a king
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. drill — army training
  15. spell — a short time
  16. fork — in a road
  17. spell — magic
  18. spell — letters
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. drill — the tool
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. drill — a practice
  23. degree — from a university
  24. fork — to eat with

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