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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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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: scale · degree · pit · court · stand · tear

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. scale — size or range
  3. pit — in a race
  4. degree — from a university
  5. degree — temperature
  6. tear — from crying
  7. pit — a hole
  8. tear — from crying
  9. scale — in music
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. stand — to bear
  12. stand — on your feet
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. tear — to rip
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. court — for sport
  17. degree — an amount
  18. court — of a king

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