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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: present · cell · wax · craft · degree · hide · rule · court

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. cell — a phone
  3. court — for sport
  4. rule — government
  5. craft — boats
  6. court — of law
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. present — a gift
  10. craft — a skill
  11. degree — temperature
  12. wax — to grow
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. court — of a king
  18. rule — a law
  19. present — there
  20. cell — in biology
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. degree — from a university
  23. present — the time now
  24. rule — to rule out

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