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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 120 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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  22. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. degree — an amount
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. mate — a partner
  7. degree — temperature
  8. degree — from a university
  9. dip — to sink
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. wake — a trail
  13. court — for sport
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. court — of law
  16. wound — an injury
  17. mate — a friend
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. safe — a strongbox
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. mate — to breed
  24. wound — an injury

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