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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. degree — from a university
  3. degree — temperature
  4. cold — an illness
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. court — for sport
  7. fork — in a road
  8. court — of law
  9. hand — in cards
  10. track — a path
  11. track — to keep track
  12. hand — help
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. bear — the animal
  15. degree — an amount
  16. bear — the animal
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. track — a song
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. cold — not warm

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