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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.

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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: pit · chip · calf · fine · degree · snap · wind · court

  1. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. court — of a king
  3. wind — moving air
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. pit — in a race
  6. degree — an amount
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. wind — moving air
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. court — of law
  13. degree — temperature
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. snap — to click
  16. pit — a hole
  17. fine — high quality
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. degree — from a university
  21. court — for sport
  22. chip — to eat
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. chip — for betting

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