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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. court — of a king
  4. court — of law
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. snap — to click
  8. pop — soda
  9. plane — a tool
  10. hand — in cards
  11. court — for sport
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. hand — help
  16. degree — temperature
  17. pop — music
  18. chair — a leader
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. degree — an amount
  23. pop — to visit
  24. chair — to sit on

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