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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. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. stem — to come from
  3. file — a line of people
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. fine — high quality
  6. degree — an amount
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. fine — all right
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. board — to get on
  13. board — a committee
  14. degree — from a university
  15. file — a document
  16. file — a tool
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. degree — temperature
  20. court — for sport
  21. shower — to wash
  22. court — of a king
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. shower — rain

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