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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: squash · court · degree · foot · club · last · bark · season

  1. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  11. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. I have a corn on my right ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. last — finally
  3. degree — an amount
  4. bark — to shout
  5. club — a group
  6. squash — the sport
  7. club — for dancing
  8. degree — temperature
  9. last — to go on
  10. foot — a measure
  11. foot — the bottom
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. last — final
  14. season — of the year
  15. court — for sport
  16. season — in sport
  17. court — of a king
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. squash — to crush
  20. club — for golf
  21. degree — from a university
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. court — of law
  24. foot — part of the body

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