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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 · court · hide · pound · arm · jam · drill · craft

  1. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. court — for sport
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. court — of a king
  5. degree — an amount
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. pound — a weight
  9. degree — temperature
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. jam — in traffic
  13. court — of law
  14. jam — a tight spot
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. craft — boats
  17. drill — the tool
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. drill — army training
  20. degree — from a university
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. jam — to spread on bread
  23. craft — a skill
  24. drill — a practice

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