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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: lean · present · club · court · cue · degree · march · stick

  1. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. club — for golf
  3. present — the time now
  4. court — of a king
  5. cue — for pool
  6. cue — a hint
  7. club — for dancing
  8. present — a gift
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. cue — a signal
  11. degree — an amount
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. present — there
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. lean — thin
  16. court — of law
  17. march — the month
  18. degree — temperature
  19. march — the month
  20. march — music
  21. court — for sport
  22. club — a group
  23. degree — from a university
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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