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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.

Words on the sheet
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Word bank
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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: perch · degree · court · craft · rule · patient

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  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 — of a king
  2. degree — an amount
  3. court — for sport
  4. rule — government
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. degree — temperature
  11. craft — boats
  12. craft — a skill
  13. rule — a law
  14. court — of law
  15. perch — the fish
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  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