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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. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a grade
  2. court — of a king
  3. cell — a phone
  4. court — of law
  5. cap — of ice
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. court — for sport
  8. shower — rain
  9. cap — a lid
  10. swing — to play on
  11. bore — to drill
  12. degree — an amount
  13. mark — a trace
  14. degree — temperature
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. swing — in golf
  17. cap — a hat
  18. bore — to tire
  19. cell — in biology
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. shower — to wash
  22. mark — to pay attention
  23. degree — from a university
  24. swing — music

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