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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 a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. degree — from a university
  3. degree — an amount
  4. mate — a friend
  5. mate — to breed
  6. degree — temperature
  7. swing — in golf
  8. mine — for digging
  9. swing — music
  10. fork — in a road
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. mate — a partner
  14. bear — the animal
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. swing — to play on
  17. bear — the animal
  18. chip — to eat
  19. court — of law
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. chip — for betting
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. court — for sport

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