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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. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. degree — temperature
  4. bear — the animal
  5. court — of a king
  6. degree — an amount
  7. safe — a strongbox
  8. bound — obliged
  9. ball — a dance
  10. degree — from a university
  11. bound — certain
  12. ball — a great time
  13. fall — the season
  14. bear — the animal
  15. bound — tied together
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. fall — to drop
  21. court — of law
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. fall — to drop
  24. safe — out of danger

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