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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. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. club — for golf
  3. club — for dancing
  4. rash — a series
  5. degree — from a university
  6. content — happy
  7. court — for sport
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. ruler — a monarch
  10. degree — an amount
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. mark — a grade
  14. court — of a king
  15. club — a group
  16. degree — temperature
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. ball — a dance
  20. mark — a trace
  21. court — of law
  22. ball — a great time
  23. content — the amount
  24. rash — hasty

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