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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 116 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: wound · court · track · bass · degree · ground · drill · game

  1. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. degree — temperature
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. ground — the earth
  5. degree — an amount
  6. track — a song
  7. degree — from a university
  8. court — for sport
  9. wound — an injury
  10. court — of law
  11. bass — the fish
  12. ground — crushed
  13. court — of a king
  14. ground — a position
  15. track — a path
  16. track — to keep track
  17. game — wild animals
  18. drill — the tool
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. bass — low music
  21. wound — an injury
  22. drill — a practice
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. game — a match

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