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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. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. club — a group
  3. degree — from a university
  4. court — of a king
  5. court — for sport
  6. plane — a tool
  7. club — for golf
  8. court — of law
  9. craft — a skill
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. degree — temperature
  12. fine — all right
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. rest — what's left
  18. bat — the animal
  19. rest — what's left
  20. fine — high quality
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. craft — boats
  23. rest — a break
  24. club — for dancing

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