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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: pit · arm · court · spring · chip · net · degree · lie

  1. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. pit — a hole
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. court — of a king
  6. spring — a coil
  7. degree — temperature
  8. degree — an amount
  9. degree — from a university
  10. chip — for betting
  11. spring — the season
  12. lie — to recline
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. pit — in a race
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. net — for catching
  18. court — of law
  19. net — in sport
  20. chip — to eat
  21. net — after costs
  22. spring — of water
  23. court — for sport
  24. arm — a part of something

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