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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.

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: mug · court · scale · last · foot · kid · dip · degree

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. Where did you ________________ them?
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  12. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. degree — from a university
  3. scale — in music
  4. mug — to rob
  5. court — of a king
  6. foot — a measure
  7. last — final
  8. degree — temperature
  9. kid — to tease
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. mug — a cup
  12. foot — the bottom
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. last — to go on
  15. scale — size or range
  16. court — for sport
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. mug — a face
  19. last — finally
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. degree — an amount
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. court — of law
  24. dip — to sink

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