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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: degree · cell · perch · kid · court · mate · rule · rush

  1. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. rule — government
  4. degree — an amount
  5. cell — in biology
  6. kid — to tease
  7. court — for sport
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. mate — to breed
  10. rule — a law
  11. court — of law
  12. court — of a king
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. mate — a partner
  15. kid — child
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. rush — hurry
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. degree — from a university
  22. degree — temperature
  23. cell — a phone
  24. perch — the fish

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