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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. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. charge — a price
  3. kid — child
  4. degree — an amount
  5. cell — a phone
  6. deal — to handle
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. court — for sport
  9. charge — electricity
  10. pitch — completely
  11. degree — from a university
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. kid — to tease
  14. charge — in control
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. cell — in biology
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. degree — temperature
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. court — of a king
  24. deal — an agreement

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