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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: root · ball · straw · swing · degree · court · season · mate

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. swing — in golf
  3. season — in sport
  4. court — of law
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. ball — a great time
  7. court — of a king
  8. root — of a word
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. root — the cause
  11. degree — from a university
  12. swing — music
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. degree — an amount
  15. mate — a friend
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. ball — a dance
  18. season — of the year
  19. swing — to play on
  20. court — for sport
  21. mate — to breed
  22. root — of a plant
  23. mate — a partner
  24. degree — temperature

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