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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: drill · bay · fine · degree · court · snap · cell · present

  1. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. My mare is ________________ in color.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  15. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. present — the time now
  3. court — of law
  4. drill — a practice
  5. court — for sport
  6. bay — a horse colour
  7. snap — to click
  8. court — of a king
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. degree — from a university
  12. fine — high quality
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. bay — to keep at bay
  15. bay — a part of the sea
  16. cell — a phone
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. fine — all right
  19. drill — army training
  20. cell — in biology
  21. degree — an amount
  22. degree — temperature
  23. present — a gift
  24. drill — the tool

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