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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: bowl · court · degree · racket · rock · game · shower · pound

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. degree — an amount
  3. pound — a weight
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. rock — a stone
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. rock — music
  12. court — for sport
  13. shower — to wash
  14. degree — temperature
  15. game — wild animals
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. game — a match
  19. degree — from a university
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. shower — rain
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. court — of a king
  24. bowl — a football final

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