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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 120 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: degree · capital · court · last · rush · straw · craft · spell

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. spell — magic
  3. capital — a city
  4. capital — money
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. degree — an amount
  8. spell — a short time
  9. court — for sport
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. court — of a king
  12. court — of law
  13. last — finally
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. last — final
  17. craft — a skill
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. last — to go on
  20. rush — hurry
  21. spell — letters
  22. craft — boats
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. degree — from a university

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