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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.

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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: band · arm · ruler · swing · degree · court · lean · suit

  1. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  12. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. When will it ________________ you to start?
  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. arm — part of the body
  2. court — of law
  3. band — a ring
  4. suit — clothes
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. band — a music group
  8. court — for sport
  9. swing — in golf
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. ruler — a monarch
  13. swing — to play on
  14. court — of a king
  15. suit — in cards
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. swing — music
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. lean — to bend
  20. degree — temperature
  21. degree — from a university
  22. lean — thin
  23. suit — to fit
  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