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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 ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. degree — from a university
  3. degree — temperature
  4. court — of law
  5. court — for sport
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. degree — an amount
  8. plane — a tool
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. can — a tin
  11. can — to be able to
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. can — a tin
  15. net — for catching
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. net — after costs
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. court — of a king
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. mine — for digging
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. ball — a great time
  24. ball — a dance

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