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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 116 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. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. court — for sport
  4. lie — to recline
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. court — of law
  7. ground — a position
  8. cell — a phone
  9. cell — in biology
  10. court — of a king
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. mine — for digging
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. degree — from a university
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. bank — of a river
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. bank — for money
  19. ground — the earth
  20. ground — crushed
  21. ball — a great time
  22. degree — temperature
  23. degree — an amount
  24. ball — a dance

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