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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. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. degree — temperature
  4. court — for sport
  5. squash — to crush
  6. degree — an amount
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. lean — to bend
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. squash — the sport
  11. court — of law
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. rock — music
  16. deal — to handle
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. ball — a dance
  19. rock — a stone
  20. bark — to shout
  21. degree — from a university
  22. ball — a great time
  23. court — of a king
  24. lean — thin

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