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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. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  3. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. ruler — a monarch
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. degree — an amount
  5. pitch — completely
  6. court — of law
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. degree — from a university
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. degree — temperature
  15. lean — to bend
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. scale — size or range
  18. court — of a king
  19. lean — thin
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. scale — in music
  24. stick — to attach or keep to

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