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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 120 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
468
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: sharp · degree · file · bark · chair · cue · bat · court

  1. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. degree — an amount
  3. degree — temperature
  4. file — a tool
  5. bark — to shout
  6. cue — a hint
  7. court — of a king
  8. court — for sport
  9. bat — the animal
  10. file — a line of people
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. chair — a leader
  14. file — a document
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. court — of law
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. cue — for pool
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. cue — a signal
  22. degree — from a university
  23. sharp — clever
  24. chair — to sit on

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