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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 office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. staff — employees
  3. degree — from a university
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. land — ground
  6. degree — an amount
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. land — a country
  9. staff — a stick
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. shower — rain
  12. band — a music group
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. degree — temperature
  15. shower — to wash
  16. court — for sport
  17. land — to come down
  18. court — of a king
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. tube — the underground
  21. staff — employees
  22. tube — a container
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. band — a ring

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