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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. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. pit — in a race
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. dip — to sink
  7. ground — crushed
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. court — of a king
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. ground — a position
  12. row — a line
  13. degree — from a university
  14. court — for sport
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. ground — the earth
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. pit — a hole
  19. bore — to tire
  20. bore — to drill
  21. degree — an amount
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. degree — temperature
  24. row — to paddle

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