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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: mark · last · fall · wake · court · degree · squash · pit

  1. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. mark — a trace
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. pit — in a race
  5. degree — an amount
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. fall — the season
  8. mark — a grade
  9. pit — a hole
  10. degree — from a university
  11. last — finally
  12. squash — the sport
  13. court — of a king
  14. degree — temperature
  15. court — for sport
  16. fall — to drop
  17. court — of law
  18. last — final
  19. fall — to drop
  20. squash — to crush
  21. wake — a trail
  22. last — to go on
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. wake — before a funeral

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