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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 120 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 is in your ________________.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. When was this ________________ built?
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. chest — a box
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. chest — of your body
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. degree — an amount
  8. court — of a king
  9. degree — temperature
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. hand — help
  14. hand — in cards
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. pitch — completely
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. chest — of your body
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. pound — a weight
  23. court — of law
  24. degree — from a university

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