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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. mate — to breed
  3. saw — the tool
  4. degree — an amount
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. jam — to spread on bread
  7. rash — a series
  8. file — a line of people
  9. degree — temperature
  10. file — a tool
  11. degree — from a university
  12. mate — a friend
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. mate — a partner
  16. mark — a trace
  17. court — of a king
  18. rash — hasty
  19. saw — the tool
  20. jam — a tight spot
  21. file — a document
  22. court — for sport
  23. mark — a grade
  24. jam — in traffic

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