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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 116 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: lean · hand · bowl · pitcher · fall · degree · object · court

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. object — a thing
  3. court — for sport
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. hand — help
  6. fall — the season
  7. fall — to drop
  8. degree — an amount
  9. hand — in cards
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. lean — to bend
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. object — to protest
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. degree — temperature
  16. lean — thin
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. degree — from a university
  20. object — an aim
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. court — of a king
  24. fall — to drop

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