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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. My mare is ________________ in color.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  19. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. firm — a company
  3. degree — an amount
  4. chest — a box
  5. bass — low music
  6. chest — of your body
  7. chest — of your body
  8. court — of law
  9. degree — from a university
  10. game — a match
  11. game — wild animals
  12. court — of a king
  13. bay — to keep at bay
  14. club — for golf
  15. bay — a horse colour
  16. bass — the fish
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. bay — a part of the sea
  19. firm — steady
  20. court — for sport
  21. firm — decided
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. club — a group
  24. degree — temperature

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