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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: board · degree · rush · roll · court · content · cabinet · dip

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. rush — hurry
  3. roll — a list
  4. content — happy
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. degree — temperature
  8. court — of law
  9. board — to get on
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. court — for sport
  12. degree — an amount
  13. roll — a cake
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. content — the amount
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. board — a committee
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. degree — from a university
  23. dip — to sink
  24. content — videos and posts

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