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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. cap — a hat
  3. craft — boats
  4. degree — from a university
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. court — for sport
  8. court — of a king
  9. cap — of ice
  10. ball — a dance
  11. march — music
  12. court — of law
  13. march — the month
  14. craft — a skill
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. cap — a lid
  18. degree — temperature
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. march — the month
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. pound — a weight
  24. ball — a great time

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