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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: current · foot · degree · prune · ground · fine · court · game

  1. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  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. prune — the fruit
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. ground — crushed
  4. degree — an amount
  5. prune — to trim
  6. degree — from a university
  7. current — happening now
  8. fine — high quality
  9. court — of a king
  10. ground — a position
  11. foot — a measure
  12. degree — temperature
  13. game — wild animals
  14. fine — all right
  15. current — of water
  16. foot — part of the body
  17. current — electric
  18. ground — the earth
  19. foot — the bottom
  20. court — for sport
  21. game — a match
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. prune — to trim
  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