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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. court — of law
  4. degree — an amount
  5. rest — what's left
  6. mark — a grade
  7. drill — a practice
  8. spell — a short time
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. drill — army training
  12. court — of a king
  13. mouse — for a computer
  14. court — for sport
  15. degree — from a university
  16. spell — letters
  17. rest — what's left
  18. hand — in cards
  19. drill — the tool
  20. spell — magic
  21. rest — a break
  22. degree — temperature
  23. mark — a trace
  24. hand — help

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