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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: dip · court · kid · degree · fall · foot · tube · rush

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. foot — a measure
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. foot — the bottom
  5. fall — to drop
  6. degree — an amount
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. degree — from a university
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. rush — hurry
  11. kid — to tease
  12. court — of law
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. court — of a king
  15. fall — the season
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. dip — to sink
  18. fall — to drop
  19. tube — a container
  20. degree — temperature
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. kid — child
  23. tube — the underground
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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