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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 116 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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. degree — from a university
  3. rest — what's left
  4. court — for sport
  5. season — in sport
  6. firm — steady
  7. degree — temperature
  8. firm — a company
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. rest — a break
  11. fine — high quality
  12. present — the time now
  13. firm — decided
  14. court — of law
  15. present — a gift
  16. present — there
  17. capital — a city
  18. season — of the year
  19. degree — an amount
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. capital — money
  22. fine — all right
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. rest — what's left

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