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

Word bank: court · firm · wind · bay · degree · chip

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  7. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  17. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. chip — for betting
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. degree — temperature
  5. court — of a king
  6. bay — a part of the sea
  7. firm — a company
  8. chip — to eat
  9. court — for sport
  10. firm — steady
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. degree — from a university
  14. wind — moving air
  15. court — of law
  16. firm — decided
  17. bay — to keep at bay
  18. wind — moving air

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