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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. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. My mare is ________________ in color.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — to keep at bay
  2. shower — rain
  3. swing — in golf
  4. degree — an amount
  5. last — finally
  6. cell — in biology
  7. degree — temperature
  8. court — of a king
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. court — for sport
  11. last — final
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. bay — a horse colour
  14. degree — from a university
  15. scale — size or range
  16. scale — in music
  17. swing — music
  18. last — to go on
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. swing — to play on
  21. court — of law
  22. shower — to wash
  23. cell — a phone
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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