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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. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. court — of a king
  3. cabinet — a cupboard
  4. squash — the sport
  5. staff — employees
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. spring — the season
  8. ground — the earth
  9. staff — a stick
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. spring — of water
  12. bore — to drill
  13. court — for sport
  14. court — of law
  15. spring — a coil
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. staff — employees
  18. degree — an amount
  19. ground — a position
  20. ground — crushed
  21. squash — to crush
  22. degree — from a university
  23. degree — temperature
  24. squash — the vegetable

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