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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 120 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: board · court · pass · swing · degree · net · land · dip

  1. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. court — of law
  3. degree — from a university
  4. court — of a king
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. swing — music
  7. land — to come down
  8. pass — to succeed
  9. land — ground
  10. degree — an amount
  11. court — for sport
  12. swing — in golf
  13. net — in sport
  14. board — to get on
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. pass — a permit
  18. net — for catching
  19. degree — temperature
  20. swing — to play on
  21. net — after costs
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. dip — to sink
  24. board — a committee

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