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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  10. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. court — for sport
  3. saw — the tool
  4. degree — temperature
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. kid — child
  8. degree — an amount
  9. ruler — a monarch
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. degree — from a university
  12. rash — a series
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. game — a match
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. kid — to tease
  17. court — of a king
  18. court — of law
  19. saw — the tool
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. rash — hasty
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. game — a kind of play

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