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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. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  8. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.

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. hand — in cards
  4. court — of law
  5. degree — temperature
  6. season — in sport
  7. cabinet — a cupboard
  8. vault — an arched ceiling
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. hand — help
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. game — a match
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. season — of the year
  18. deal — to handle
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. game — wild animals
  21. degree — from a university
  22. court — of a king
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. vault — a safe

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