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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. court — of law
  3. ruler — a monarch
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. court — for sport
  7. pound — a weight
  8. degree — temperature
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. wind — moving air
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. wind — moving air
  14. degree — from a university
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. season — of the year
  19. safe — a strongbox
  20. fork — in a road
  21. season — in sport
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. court — of a king
  24. ruler — for measuring

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