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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. ground — a position
  3. court — of law
  4. court — for sport
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. degree — temperature
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. court — of a king
  9. ground — the earth
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. squash — to crush
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. degree — an amount
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. ground — crushed
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. rush — hurry
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. squash — the sport
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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