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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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  19. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. firm — a company
  3. degree — from a university
  4. scale — in music
  5. snap — to click
  6. degree — an amount
  7. jam — in traffic
  8. fork — in a road
  9. court — for sport
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. court — of law
  13. jam — a tight spot
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. degree — temperature
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. firm — decided
  19. jam — to spread on bread
  20. row — a line
  21. firm — steady
  22. row — to paddle
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. court — of a king

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