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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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. court — of law
  4. spell — magic
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. cell — a phone
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. degree — from a university
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. degree — temperature
  14. cell — in biology
  15. spell — letters
  16. safe — a strongbox
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. court — of a king
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. spell — a short time
  22. sharp — clever
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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