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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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. Where did you ________________ them?
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. degree — an amount
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. mine — for digging
  5. degree — temperature
  6. sharp — clever
  7. mug — a cup
  8. fine — high quality
  9. mug — a face
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. snap — to click
  13. court — for sport
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. mug — to rob
  18. degree — from a university
  19. squash — to crush
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. court — of law
  22. court — of a king
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. squash — the sport

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