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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 ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. cue — a signal
  3. degree — an amount
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. wound — an injury
  6. can — a tin
  7. can — to be able to
  8. court — of a king
  9. cap — of ice
  10. can — a tin
  11. wind — moving air
  12. wound — an injury
  13. court — for sport
  14. cap — a hat
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. degree — from a university
  17. degree — temperature
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. cue — a hint
  20. dip — to sink
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. cue — for pool
  23. cap — a lid
  24. wind — moving air

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