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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: court · chip · wake · saw · hand · degree · board · lash

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. saw — the tool
  3. hand — help
  4. court — of a king
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. degree — from a university
  7. board — a committee
  8. chip — for betting
  9. degree — an amount
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. court — for sport
  13. saw — the tool
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. chip — to eat
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. hand — in cards
  21. wake — a trail
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. degree — temperature
  24. board — to get on

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