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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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  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. game — a kind of play
  2. degree — temperature
  3. game — wild animals
  4. court — of law
  5. cue — for pool
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. cue — a hint
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. bound — certain
  10. stock — shares
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. degree — an amount
  13. bat — the animal
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. bound — obliged
  16. court — of a king
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. cue — a signal
  19. stock — goods
  20. court — for sport
  21. stem — to come from
  22. bound — tied together
  23. game — a match
  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