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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: kick · degree · land · last · arm · stick · court · stock

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. court — of law
  3. stock — shares
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. court — of a king
  6. kick — in football
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. last — finally
  9. degree — from a university
  10. land — ground
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. stock — goods
  13. court — for sport
  14. degree — temperature
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. land — a country
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. last — final
  23. last — to go on
  24. degree — an amount

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