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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 is in your ________________.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. degree — an amount
  3. prune — to trim
  4. prune — to trim
  5. degree — temperature
  6. degree — from a university
  7. bass — the fish
  8. court — of law
  9. bass — low music
  10. press — a publisher
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. band — a ring
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. safe — a strongbox
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. press — to push
  21. press — newspapers
  22. band — a music group
  23. court — of a king
  24. calf — of the leg

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