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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: fall · pop · degree · straw · ruler · bowl · court · root

  1. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. 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. bowl — to roll
  2. court — of a king
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. court — for sport
  5. ruler — a monarch
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. degree — from a university
  8. fall — the season
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. pop — soda
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. pop — music
  13. degree — temperature
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. fall — to drop
  16. root — the cause
  17. root — of a plant
  18. degree — an amount
  19. pop — to visit
  20. root — of a word
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. fall — to drop
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. 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