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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. I can't ________________ this cold.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. court — of a king
  3. stand — on your feet
  4. object — an aim
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. court — of law
  8. roll — a list
  9. court — for sport
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. chip — to eat
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. object — to protest
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. object — a thing
  18. degree — from a university
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. roll — a cake
  21. degree — temperature
  22. chip — for betting
  23. stand — to bear
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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