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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: net · sharp · ball · degree · drill · court · track · wake

  1. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. net — for catching
  3. ball — a great time
  4. drill — army training
  5. court — of a king
  6. track — a song
  7. degree — from a university
  8. net — after costs
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. net — in sport
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. drill — the tool
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. track — to keep track
  15. court — for sport
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. degree — an amount
  18. drill — a practice
  19. track — a path
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. sharp — clever
  22. wake — a trail
  23. degree — temperature
  24. court — of law

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