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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: mouse · cap · degree · pitcher · rash · wound · march · court

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. wound — an injury
  4. court — of a king
  5. degree — an amount
  6. court — for sport
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. cap — a lid
  9. cap — a hat
  10. march — the month
  11. mouse — for a computer
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. degree — from a university
  14. rash — hasty
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. degree — temperature
  17. wound — an injury
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. march — the month
  21. cap — of ice
  22. rash — a series
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. march — music

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