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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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468
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 · hand · court · rash · racket · drill · cap · kick

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. degree — from a university
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. cap — a lid
  5. court — for sport
  6. drill — the tool
  7. cap — a hat
  8. degree — an amount
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. cap — of ice
  11. drill — a practice
  12. degree — temperature
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. kick — in football
  16. drill — army training
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. hand — in cards
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. rash — hasty
  21. rash — a series
  22. hand — help
  23. court — of a king
  24. kick — a thrill

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