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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. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. This piece is in a major ________________.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. key — in music
  5. court — of a king
  6. degree — temperature
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. key — the most important part
  10. degree — from a university
  11. key — for a lock
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. wind — moving air
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. degree — an amount
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. wind — moving air
  20. rash — a series
  21. rash — hasty
  22. deal — to handle
  23. fork — in a road
  24. court — for sport

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