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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: arm · degree · object · game · court · last · march · rush

  1. That was a fun ________________.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. last — finally
  3. last — final
  4. game — wild animals
  5. degree — from a university
  6. object — an aim
  7. court — of law
  8. court — for sport
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. court — of a king
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. degree — an amount
  13. march — music
  14. degree — temperature
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. march — the month
  17. last — to go on
  18. rush — hurry
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. object — a thing
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. march — the month
  24. object — to protest

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