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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. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. squash — to crush
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. degree — temperature
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. degree — from a university
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. swing — music
  10. bore — to tire
  11. squash — the sport
  12. pound — a weight
  13. degree — an amount
  14. court — of a king
  15. swing — to play on
  16. court — of law
  17. bore — to drill
  18. cell — in biology
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. fork — in a road
  23. swing — in golf
  24. cell — a phone

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