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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. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. court — of a king
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. court — for sport
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. pound — a weight
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. court — of law
  10. degree — from a university
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. pop — to visit
  13. pop — music
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. degree — an amount
  16. stem — to come from
  17. board — to get on
  18. scale — in music
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. board — a committee
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. pop — soda
  23. degree — temperature
  24. scale — size or range

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