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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. game — a match
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. degree — from a university
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. rock — a stone
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. degree — temperature
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. degree — an amount
  16. capital — money
  17. court — for sport
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. safe — a strongbox
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. court — of law
  22. game — wild animals
  23. capital — a city
  24. rock — music

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