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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: court · band · degree · pass · drill · prune · firm · lie

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  23. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. pass — a permit
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. band — a ring
  5. drill — a practice
  6. drill — army training
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. pass — to spend time
  9. band — a music group
  10. degree — an amount
  11. pass — to succeed
  12. lie — to recline
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. firm — a company
  15. court — for sport
  16. court — of a king
  17. drill — the tool
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. prune — to trim
  20. degree — from a university
  21. degree — temperature
  22. firm — steady
  23. firm — decided
  24. prune — to trim

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