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

Word bank: court · stick · cell · row · degree · bank

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. 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. court — for sport
  2. court — of law
  3. court — of a king
  4. row — to paddle
  5. degree — an amount
  6. bank — for money
  7. degree — temperature
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. cell — in biology
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. bank — for money
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. row — a line
  14. bank — of a river
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. cell — a phone
  18. 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