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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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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: degree · band · firm · court · last · tear

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. court — of law
  4. last — finally
  5. band — a ring
  6. last — to go on
  7. firm — decided
  8. degree — temperature
  9. tear — from crying
  10. court — of a king
  11. last — final
  12. firm — a company
  13. tear — from crying
  14. firm — steady
  15. degree — from a university
  16. band — a music group
  17. tear — to rip
  18. degree — an amount

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