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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: last · ground · court · trunk · track · ball · degree · press

  1. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. last — to go on
  3. last — finally
  4. court — of law
  5. court — for sport
  6. press — to push
  7. press — a publisher
  8. ground — a position
  9. degree — from a university
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. ball — a dance
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. track — a song
  14. ground — crushed
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. ground — the earth
  17. degree — temperature
  18. last — final
  19. track — a path
  20. degree — an amount
  21. court — of a king
  22. press — newspapers
  23. ball — a great time
  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