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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: court · mate · cap · racket · degree · chip · roll · spring

  1. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. chip — in a computer
  3. spring — the season
  4. chip — for betting
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. court — of law
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. mate — a friend
  10. spring — of water
  11. roll — a cake
  12. spring — a coil
  13. mate — a partner
  14. degree — an amount
  15. degree — temperature
  16. cap — a lid
  17. court — of a king
  18. cap — a hat
  19. roll — a list
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. mate — to breed
  22. degree — from a university
  23. court — for sport
  24. chip — to eat

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