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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: pass · rule · court · present · season · kid · degree · arm

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. rule — a law
  3. present — the time now
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. present — there
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. season — of the year
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. pass — to succeed
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. degree — from a university
  13. kid — child
  14. degree — temperature
  15. season — in sport
  16. present — a gift
  17. degree — an amount
  18. rule — government
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. court — of a king
  21. court — for sport
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. pass — a permit
  24. court — of law

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