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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: jam · court · wake · swing · arm · rash · rest · degree

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. jam — a tight spot
  3. rest — what's left
  4. rash — hasty
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. degree — an amount
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. jam — to spread on bread
  9. swing — to play on
  10. rest — a break
  11. swing — in golf
  12. court — of law
  13. rest — what's left
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. court — of a king
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. degree — from a university
  18. degree — temperature
  19. jam — in traffic
  20. swing — music
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. rash — a series
  23. wake — a trail
  24. wake — before a funeral

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