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

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. row — a line
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. lie — to recline
  5. court — of a king
  6. degree — temperature
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. rash — a series
  11. lean — thin
  12. court — for sport
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. lean — to bend
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. row — to paddle
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. court — of law
  22. safe — a strongbox
  23. rash — hasty
  24. degree — from a university

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