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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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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: club · roll · fine · spell · pop · court · degree · cell

  1. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. cell — in biology
  3. cell — a phone
  4. fine — high quality
  5. spell — letters
  6. court — of law
  7. club — a group
  8. spell — magic
  9. roll — a list
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. pop — to visit
  13. pop — soda
  14. degree — from a university
  15. degree — an amount
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. degree — temperature
  18. fine — all right
  19. spell — a short time
  20. club — for dancing
  21. club — for golf
  22. court — for sport
  23. court — of a king
  24. roll — a cake

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