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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 116 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. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. court — of a king
  3. saw — the tool
  4. court — of law
  5. degree — temperature
  6. cold — an illness
  7. key — the most important part
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. pop — soda
  10. club — a group
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. degree — from a university
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. cold — not warm
  15. degree — an amount
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. club — for dancing
  18. key — for a lock
  19. pop — to visit
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. court — for sport
  22. saw — the tool
  23. club — for golf
  24. key — in music

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