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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  20. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. court — of law
  3. degree — from a university
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. drill — the tool
  6. fall — to drop
  7. court — for sport
  8. fall — the season
  9. game — a match
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. fall — to drop
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. drill — a practice
  15. degree — an amount
  16. game — wild animals
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. chip — to eat
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. drill — army training
  22. ruler — a monarch
  23. degree — temperature
  24. chip — for betting

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