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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 ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. court — of a king
  5. cap — a lid
  6. cap — a hat
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. bat — the animal
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. saw — the tool
  12. cap — of ice
  13. court — for sport
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. degree — from a university
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. sharp — clever
  20. degree — an amount
  21. saw — the tool
  22. degree — temperature
  23. fork — in a road
  24. sharp — exactly

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