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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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. Where did you ________________ them?
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  12. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. fine — all right
  3. hand — in cards
  4. fall — to drop
  5. mug — to rob
  6. fall — the season
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. degree — from a university
  10. court — of law
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. mug — a face
  13. fork — in a road
  14. fine — high quality
  15. mouse — for a computer
  16. hand — help
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. degree — temperature
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. mug — a cup
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. court — for sport
  23. court — of a king
  24. fall — to drop

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