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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: degree · deal · kick · fan · pit · cold · court · game

  1. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  2. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — in a race
  2. deal — to handle
  3. degree — from a university
  4. pit — a hole
  5. degree — temperature
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. court — for sport
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. degree — an amount
  14. kick — in football
  15. court — of a king
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. game — wild animals
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. game — a match
  21. court — of law
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. cold — not warm
  24. cold — an illness

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