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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: drill · degree · lie · court · craft · wound · spell · last

  1. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. degree — from a university
  3. drill — the tool
  4. court — of law
  5. last — final
  6. degree — temperature
  7. wound — an injury
  8. spell — magic
  9. craft — boats
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. drill — a practice
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. spell — letters
  14. wound — an injury
  15. last — finally
  16. court — for sport
  17. court — of a king
  18. drill — army training
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. degree — an amount
  21. last — to go on
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. lie — to recline
  24. craft — a skill

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