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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 ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. Where did you ________________ them?
  8. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  9. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  16. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. Recycle the empty soda ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. court — for sport
  3. game — a match
  4. can — to be able to
  5. degree — from a university
  6. mug — a face
  7. mug — to rob
  8. toast — the most admired
  9. toast — a drink to someone
  10. present — the time now
  11. present — there
  12. present — a gift
  13. court — of a king
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. mug — a cup
  16. toast — bread
  17. degree — temperature
  18. game — wild animals
  19. degree — an amount
  20. can — a tin
  21. spring — the season
  22. spring — of water
  23. spring — a coil
  24. can — a tin

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