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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.

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: last · degree · mouse · stem · court · jam · lash · face

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. degree — from a university
  3. jam — a tight spot
  4. last — finally
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. court — for sport
  7. last — to go on
  8. stem — to come from
  9. face — to confront
  10. face — to point toward
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. jam — to spread on bread
  13. face — part of the head
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. degree — temperature
  17. jam — in traffic
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. court — of a king
  21. mouse — for a computer
  22. court — of law
  23. last — final
  24. lash — to lash out

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