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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. degree — temperature
  3. firm — decided
  4. root — of a word
  5. court — of a king
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. tear — from crying
  8. hand — in cards
  9. tear — to rip
  10. firm — steady
  11. degree — an amount
  12. last — to go on
  13. court — of law
  14. root — the cause
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. hand — help
  18. degree — from a university
  19. last — final
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. firm — a company
  22. last — finally
  23. root — of a plant
  24. tear — from crying

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