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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: degree · safe · court · lie · lash · drill · bat · rest

  1. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. rest — what's left
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. degree — from a university
  5. safe — a strongbox
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. court — of law
  8. degree — temperature
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. degree — an amount
  11. lie — to recline
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. rest — a break
  15. drill — the tool
  16. court — for sport
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. rest — what's left
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. bat — the animal
  21. court — of a king
  22. drill — a practice
  23. drill — army training
  24. bat — for baseball

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