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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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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: content · court · board · fork · degree · ruler

  1. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — to get on
  2. court — of law
  3. content — happy
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. degree — temperature
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. degree — an amount
  9. court — of a king
  10. ruler — a monarch
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. content — the amount
  13. degree — from a university
  14. court — for sport
  15. fork — in a road
  16. board — a committee
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. content — videos and posts

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