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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: degree · court · rule · kid · jam · club

  1. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  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. club — for dancing
  2. kid — child
  3. kid — to tease
  4. court — of law
  5. club — for golf
  6. court — for sport
  7. jam — to spread on bread
  8. degree — temperature
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. degree — an amount
  12. club — a group
  13. rule — a law
  14. jam — in traffic
  15. rule — government
  16. court — of a king
  17. jam — a tight spot
  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