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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. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. ruler — for measuring
  3. tube — a container
  4. prune — to trim
  5. court — of a king
  6. prune — to trim
  7. board — to get on
  8. cell — in biology
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. degree — an amount
  11. court — of law
  12. board — a committee
  13. ruler — a monarch
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. degree — from a university
  18. tube — the underground
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. degree — temperature
  23. cell — a phone
  24. kick — in football

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