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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.

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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.

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: degree · pitcher · fine · fork · row · staff · wound · court

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. court — of law
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. fine — high quality
  6. court — of a king
  7. degree — from a university
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. degree — an amount
  12. wound — an injury
  13. wound — an injury
  14. staff — a stick
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. fork — in a road
  18. staff — employees
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. staff — employees
  21. row — to paddle
  22. fine — all right
  23. degree — temperature
  24. row — a line

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