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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 124 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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. My mare is ________________ in color.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. court — of a king
  3. bay — to keep at bay
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. bay — a part of the sea
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. degree — temperature
  9. court — of law
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. degree — from a university
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. dip — to sink
  15. court — for sport
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. club — for dancing
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. club — a group
  22. club — for golf
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. bay — a horse colour

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