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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. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. degree — from a university
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. wound — an injury
  8. rule — government
  9. pit — a hole
  10. court — for sport
  11. toast — the most admired
  12. court — of law
  13. rule — a law
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. wound — an injury
  17. branch — a division
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. pit — in a race
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. toast — a drink to someone
  22. degree — temperature
  23. court — of a king
  24. degree — an amount

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