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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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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: face · cell · rash · court · degree · last · mark · calf

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. mark — a trace
  4. rash — a series
  5. court — of law
  6. face — to point toward
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. mark — a grade
  9. court — of a king
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. court — for sport
  12. degree — temperature
  13. degree — from a university
  14. cell — a phone
  15. face — part of the head
  16. face — to confront
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. last — to go on
  20. last — finally
  21. degree — an amount
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. rash — hasty
  24. cell — in biology

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