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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 ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. My mare is ________________ in color.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. chip — to eat
  6. bay — a horse colour
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. bay — to keep at bay
  10. stock — shares
  11. chip — for betting
  12. cell — a phone
  13. bay — a part of the sea
  14. cold — an illness
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. cold — not warm
  17. court — of a king
  18. cell — in biology
  19. court — for sport
  20. stock — goods
  21. degree — from a university
  22. pound — a weight
  23. degree — temperature
  24. degree — an amount

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