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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: fall · kid · degree · present · toast · court

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  4. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  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. present — there
  3. toast — the most admired
  4. toast — a drink to someone
  5. court — for sport
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. toast — bread
  8. fall — the season
  9. present — a gift
  10. fall — to drop
  11. degree — from a university
  12. degree — an amount
  13. kid — to tease
  14. degree — temperature
  15. fall — to drop
  16. kid — child
  17. present — the time now
  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