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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: face · wind · track · game · racket · court · foot · degree

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. face — part of the head
  3. court — for sport
  4. game — a match
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. foot — a measure
  7. wind — moving air
  8. track — a song
  9. foot — the bottom
  10. track — a path
  11. court — of law
  12. degree — from a university
  13. face — to confront
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. degree — temperature
  16. wind — moving air
  17. degree — an amount
  18. face — to point toward
  19. game — wild animals
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. track — to keep track

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