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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 ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. object — to protest
  3. plane — a tool
  4. court — of a king
  5. court — for sport
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. stock — goods
  8. swing — to play on
  9. swing — music
  10. degree — an amount
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. bass — low music
  13. object — an aim
  14. stock — shares
  15. degree — temperature
  16. file — a tool
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. bass — the fish
  19. object — a thing
  20. file — a document
  21. degree — from a university
  22. file — a line of people
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. swing — in golf

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