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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. That was a fun ________________.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. game — a match
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. game — wild animals
  5. degree — temperature
  6. bank — for money
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. season — of the year
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. bat — the animal
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. bank — of a river
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. pitch — completely
  17. court — of a king
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. bank — for money
  20. degree — an amount
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. season — in sport
  23. degree — from a university
  24. court — for 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