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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. When will it ________________ you to start?
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. row — to paddle
  4. ball — a great time
  5. bass — the fish
  6. ball — a dance
  7. court — of law
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. suit — to fit
  13. court — of a king
  14. bass — low music
  15. suit — in cards
  16. degree — temperature
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. fork — in a road
  19. degree — from a university
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. court — for sport
  22. row — a line
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. suit — clothes

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