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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: safe · squash · game · degree · stock · court

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. degree — from a university
  3. court — for sport
  4. squash — the sport
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. stock — goods
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. game — a match
  11. degree — temperature
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. game — wild animals
  14. stock — shares
  15. degree — an amount
  16. safe — a strongbox
  17. squash — to crush
  18. court — of law

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