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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: court · racket · wind · tear · fine · firm · degree · lie

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  6. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. lie — to recline
  3. fine — all right
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. firm — a company
  6. firm — decided
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. degree — from a university
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. degree — an amount
  11. tear — to rip
  12. court — of law
  13. tear — from crying
  14. degree — temperature
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. tear — from crying
  17. court — of a king
  18. wind — moving air
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. fine — high quality
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. firm — steady
  24. wind — moving air

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