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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. scale — in music
  3. degree — from a university
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. pit — a hole
  6. pit — in a race
  7. land — a country
  8. board — to get on
  9. degree — temperature
  10. degree — an amount
  11. branch — a division
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. court — of law
  14. land — ground
  15. court — for sport
  16. land — to come down
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. club — a group
  19. court — of a king
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. board — a committee
  22. club — for golf
  23. scale — size or range
  24. branch — of a tree

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