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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 120 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: lash · hand · calf · saw · press · court · degree · last

  1. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. saw — past of 'see'
  2. saw — the tool
  3. press — a publisher
  4. degree — from a university
  5. hand — help
  6. press — newspapers
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. court — of a king
  12. court — for sport
  13. degree — an amount
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. degree — temperature
  16. last — finally
  17. last — final
  18. last — to go on
  19. saw — the tool
  20. hand — in cards
  21. court — of law
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  24. press — to push

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