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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: hide · bound · game · trunk · court · degree · nail · pitcher

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. bound — obliged
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. game — wild animals
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. game — a match
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. bound — certain
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. court — for sport
  14. court — of a king
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. degree — an amount
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. bound — tied together
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. degree — temperature
  24. degree — from a university

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