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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. When will it ________________ you to start?
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. suit — to fit
  3. mark — a grade
  4. wind — moving air
  5. suit — clothes
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. suit — in cards
  8. fork — in a road
  9. degree — temperature
  10. mark — a trace
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. degree — from a university
  14. roll — a cake
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. court — for sport
  18. roll — a list
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. wind — moving air
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. court — of a king
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. court — of law

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