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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 116 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 hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. scale — size or range
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. degree — temperature
  6. spring — a coil
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. spring — the season
  9. court — for sport
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. bore — to tire
  12. degree — from a university
  13. rule — government
  14. fine — all right
  15. rule — a law
  16. scale — in music
  17. court — of law
  18. court — of a king
  19. degree — an amount
  20. bore — to drill
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. fine — high quality

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