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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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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: bay · degree · firm · tube · cap · bat · lean · court

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. My mare is ________________ in color.
  21. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  22. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. tube — a container
  3. tube — the underground
  4. lean — to bend
  5. firm — steady
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. court — for sport
  8. lean — thin
  9. degree — temperature
  10. bat — the animal
  11. cap — a lid
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. cap — a hat
  15. degree — from a university
  16. bay — to keep at bay
  17. court — of law
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. court — of a king
  20. bay — a horse colour
  21. bay — a part of the sea
  22. firm — a company
  23. cap — of ice
  24. firm — decided

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