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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. bear — the animal
  3. plane — a tool
  4. degree — an amount
  5. pop — music
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. court — for sport
  8. pop — soda
  9. rash — hasty
  10. band — a music group
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. degree — from a university
  14. band — a ring
  15. degree — temperature
  16. pop — to visit
  17. court — of law
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. rash — a series
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. squash — to crush
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. squash — the sport
  24. bear — the animal

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