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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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. chest — of your body
  3. fine — high quality
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. court — of law
  6. cap — a lid
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. degree — an amount
  9. current — of water
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. degree — temperature
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. cap — of ice
  15. chest — a box
  16. degree — from a university
  17. fine — all right
  18. current — happening now
  19. court — of a king
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. plane — a tool
  22. cap — a hat
  23. current — electric
  24. chest — of your body

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