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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 124 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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. My mare is ________________ in color.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. last — finally
  3. last — to go on
  4. degree — temperature
  5. court — of a king
  6. bass — the fish
  7. rush — hurry
  8. last — final
  9. chair — a leader
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. degree — an amount
  12. bay — a part of the sea
  13. degree — from a university
  14. hand — help
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. bay — a horse colour
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. court — for sport
  20. hand — in cards
  21. bay — to keep at bay
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. bass — low music
  24. court — of law

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