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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 120 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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  17. Where did you ________________ them?
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. spring — of water
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. ruler — a monarch
  5. tube — a container
  6. spring — the season
  7. degree — from a university
  8. degree — temperature
  9. tube — the underground
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. current — happening now
  12. sharp — clever
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. mug — a cup
  15. current — electric
  16. mug — a face
  17. mug — to rob
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. degree — an amount
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. spring — a coil
  22. court — of a king
  23. court — for sport
  24. current — of water

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