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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. rash — a series
  3. kid — child
  4. court — for sport
  5. degree — from a university
  6. fall — to drop
  7. last — finally
  8. court — of a king
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. fall — to drop
  11. bound — obliged
  12. last — final
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. fall — the season
  15. degree — temperature
  16. degree — an amount
  17. bound — certain
  18. court — of law
  19. rash — hasty
  20. bound — tied together
  21. kid — to tease
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. rash — on the skin

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