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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 116 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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. file — a line of people
  4. degree — temperature
  5. court — of a king
  6. mate — a friend
  7. game — a match
  8. mate — to breed
  9. last — to go on
  10. drill — a practice
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. last — final
  13. degree — an amount
  14. file — a document
  15. drill — the tool
  16. wake — a trail
  17. court — for sport
  18. file — a tool
  19. game — wild animals
  20. last — finally
  21. court — of law
  22. drill — army training
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. mate — a partner

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