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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. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. row — a line
  3. court — of law
  4. court — for sport
  5. face — to confront
  6. court — of a king
  7. cap — a lid
  8. bear — the animal
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. cap — of ice
  11. row — to paddle
  12. bear — the animal
  13. swing — music
  14. degree — an amount
  15. wind — moving air
  16. wind — moving air
  17. swing — to play on
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. degree — from a university
  20. face — to point toward
  21. face — part of the head
  22. degree — temperature
  23. swing — in golf
  24. cap — a hat

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