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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 party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. degree — from a university
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. court — of a king
  5. degree — an amount
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. branch — a division
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. degree — temperature
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. rash — hasty
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. court — for sport
  20. court — of law
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. kick — in football
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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