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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. court — of law
  3. bass — low music
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. court — for sport
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. bore — to drill
  10. degree — from a university
  11. bass — the fish
  12. degree — temperature
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. court — of a king
  15. kick — in football
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. march — the month
  19. march — the month
  20. bore — to tire
  21. march — music
  22. degree — an amount
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. fan — to cool the 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