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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: craft · degree · racket · bowl · ground · fall

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. craft — a skill
  6. degree — from a university
  7. fall — the season
  8. ground — the earth
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. fall — to drop
  12. craft — boats
  13. ground — crushed
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. ground — a position
  16. degree — temperature
  17. fall — to drop
  18. bowl — a football final

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