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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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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: bay · court · capital · tear · face · ruler · rush · degree

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. My mare is ________________ in color.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  10. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. degree — temperature
  4. tear — to rip
  5. capital — money
  6. bay — a horse colour
  7. court — of law
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. court — for sport
  12. bay — to keep at bay
  13. tear — from crying
  14. face — part of the head
  15. bay — a part of the sea
  16. court — of a king
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. ruler — a monarch
  19. rush — hurry
  20. tear — from crying
  21. face — to point toward
  22. degree — an amount
  23. capital — a city
  24. face — to confront

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