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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 · rush · cold · pit · court · game · bank · mug

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. Where did you ________________ them?
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  10. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. bank — of a river
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. bank — for money
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. mug — to rob
  7. mug — a face
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. bank — for money
  10. mug — a cup
  11. degree — from a university
  12. game — wild animals
  13. game — a match
  14. rush — hurry
  15. court — of a king
  16. degree — an amount
  17. pit — a hole
  18. court — for sport
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. cold — an illness
  21. cold — not warm
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. degree — temperature
  24. pit — in a race

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