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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 116 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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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: content · pass · bound · root · file · club · court · degree

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. bound — certain
  3. degree — from a university
  4. club — for dancing
  5. content — happy
  6. court — of law
  7. pass — to spend time
  8. root — the cause
  9. bound — tied together
  10. bound — obliged
  11. pass — a permit
  12. root — of a plant
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. degree — an amount
  15. file — a line of people
  16. court — for sport
  17. content — the amount
  18. club — a group
  19. file — a document
  20. degree — temperature
  21. file — a tool
  22. club — for golf
  23. root — of a word
  24. pass — to succeed

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