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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: court · sharp · scale · ground · object · hand · racket · game

  1. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. hand — in cards
  3. object — a thing
  4. hand — help
  5. ground — crushed
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. game — a match
  8. ground — a position
  9. court — for sport
  10. scale — in music
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. court — of law
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. scale — size or range
  18. sharp — clever
  19. object — an aim
  20. object — to protest
  21. game — wild animals
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. court — of a king
  24. scale — for weighing

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