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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 120 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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. degree — from a university
  4. fall — the season
  5. mark — a trace
  6. cap — a lid
  7. court — for sport
  8. court — of law
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. fall — to drop
  11. swing — music
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. court — of a king
  16. mark — a grade
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. cap — of ice
  20. swing — in golf
  21. fall — to drop
  22. cap — a hat
  23. degree — temperature
  24. swing — to play on

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