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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: pitcher · degree · wound · last · lie · rash · key · court

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. lie — to recline
  4. degree — an amount
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. wound — an injury
  8. court — for sport
  9. key — the most important part
  10. last — final
  11. court — of a king
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. court — of law
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. rash — a series
  17. wound — an injury
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. key — for a lock
  20. key — in music
  21. rash — hasty
  22. last — to go on
  23. degree — from a university
  24. last — finally

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