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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: racket · court · board · cell · net · drill · degree · hand

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. drill — a practice
  3. court — for sport
  4. drill — the tool
  5. board — a committee
  6. degree — from a university
  7. drill — army training
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. net — for catching
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. court — of law
  12. court — of a king
  13. board — to get on
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. cell — in biology
  16. hand — in cards
  17. degree — an amount
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. hand — help
  20. net — in sport
  21. net — after costs
  22. degree — temperature
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. board — a flat piece

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