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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: degree · court · rash · calf · tear · straw · board · pitch

  1. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  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. rash — a series
  2. degree — temperature
  3. court — of a king
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. degree — from a university
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. tear — from crying
  8. court — for sport
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. pitch — completely
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. board — a committee
  14. board — to get on
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. tear — from crying
  18. rash — hasty
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. court — of law
  21. tear — to rip
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. straw — dry grass
  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