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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: row · kid · bank · degree · court · jam · lash · shower

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  21. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. kid — child
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. jam — a tight spot
  5. kid — to tease
  6. degree — temperature
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. shower — rain
  10. court — of law
  11. shower — to wash
  12. jam — to spread on bread
  13. row — to paddle
  14. bank — for money
  15. row — a line
  16. degree — an amount
  17. bank — for money
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. bank — of a river
  21. jam — in traffic
  22. court — for sport
  23. degree — from a university
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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