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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: lean · degree · court · mug · current · roll · drill · hand

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. Where did you ________________ them?
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. degree — temperature
  3. mug — to rob
  4. lean — to bend
  5. lean — thin
  6. degree — an amount
  7. hand — in cards
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. roll — a list
  10. mug — a cup
  11. roll — a cake
  12. drill — army training
  13. drill — a practice
  14. court — of law
  15. current — electric
  16. court — for sport
  17. degree — from a university
  18. hand — help
  19. current — happening now
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. mug — a face
  22. drill — the tool
  23. current — of water
  24. lean — to rest against

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