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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: bat · foot · degree · roll · court · kick · kid · board

  1. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. We're on a ________________ here.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  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. foot — a measure
  2. court — of a king
  3. kick — in football
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. bat — the animal
  6. roll — a list
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. degree — temperature
  9. degree — an amount
  10. board — a committee
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. board — to get on
  13. court — of law
  14. court — for sport
  15. kid — child
  16. roll — on a roll
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. foot — the bottom
  19. kid — to tease
  20. roll — a cake
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. foot — part of the body
  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