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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. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. pop — to visit
  3. degree — an amount
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. degree — temperature
  6. court — of a king
  7. object — an aim
  8. net — in sport
  9. club — for golf
  10. degree — from a university
  11. net — after costs
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. court — for sport
  14. object — to protest
  15. deal — to handle
  16. court — of law
  17. shower — rain
  18. club — for dancing
  19. shower — to wash
  20. pop — music
  21. pop — soda
  22. net — for catching
  23. club — a group
  24. object — a thing

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