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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. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  20. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. degree — temperature
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. drill — army training
  8. rush — hurry
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. degree — from a university
  11. pit — in a race
  12. net — for catching
  13. drill — the tool
  14. court — of law
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. net — in sport
  17. degree — an amount
  18. pit — a hole
  19. safe — a strongbox
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. net — after costs
  23. drill — a practice
  24. court — of a king

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