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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.

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: wave · lie · degree · row · cabinet · court · chip · ball

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. degree — from a university
  5. court — of a king
  6. ball — a great time
  7. ball — a dance
  8. row — a line
  9. degree — an amount
  10. degree — temperature
  11. chip — to eat
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. lie — to recline
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. chip — for betting
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. court — of law
  21. row — to paddle
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. chip — in a computer

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