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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 ball is in your ________________.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  17. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. My mare is ________________ in color.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. content — happy
  3. mate — a partner
  4. content — the amount
  5. degree — an amount
  6. degree — temperature
  7. degree — from a university
  8. mate — a friend
  9. bay — a part of the sea
  10. court — of a king
  11. can — a tin
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. kick — in football
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. can — a tin
  16. can — to be able to
  17. bay — to keep at bay
  18. court — of law
  19. wake — a trail
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. mate — to breed
  24. bay — a horse colour

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