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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: calf · club · hand · court · plane · rash · stand · degree

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. court — for sport
  3. degree — an amount
  4. degree — from a university
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. rash — hasty
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. degree — temperature
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. hand — in cards
  11. club — a group
  12. court — of law
  13. club — for dancing
  14. rash — a series
  15. court — of a king
  16. club — for golf
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. stand — to bear
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. plane — a tool
  24. stand — for spectators

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