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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. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. cap — a hat
  3. degree — from a university
  4. degree — temperature
  5. key — for a lock
  6. key — the most important part
  7. court — of a king
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. key — in music
  11. bass — low music
  12. cap — of ice
  13. court — of law
  14. degree — an amount
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. bass — the fish
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. mine — for digging
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. rock — music
  23. cap — a lid
  24. rock — a stone

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