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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. court — of a king
  3. face — to confront
  4. court — of law
  5. lean — to bend
  6. degree — temperature
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. face — to point toward
  11. perch — the fish
  12. capital — money
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. court — for sport
  15. lean — thin
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. degree — an amount
  18. chip — for betting
  19. face — part of the head
  20. chip — to eat
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. capital — a city
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. chip — in a computer

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