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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. When was this ________________ built?
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. court — of law
  5. hand — help
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. file — a document
  9. file — a line of people
  10. court — for sport
  11. season — in sport
  12. degree — an amount
  13. temple — side of the head
  14. hand — in cards
  15. firm — steady
  16. court — of a king
  17. degree — temperature
  18. file — a tool
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. firm — a company
  21. degree — from a university
  22. firm — decided
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. season — to add flavour

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