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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. court — for sport
  3. season — of the year
  4. land — to come down
  5. fine — high quality
  6. court — of law
  7. rush — hurry
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. season — in sport
  10. degree — an amount
  11. squash — to crush
  12. squash — the sport
  13. court — of a king
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. land — ground
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. land — a country
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. degree — from a university
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. fine — all right
  24. plane — a tool

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