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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: court · ground · kid · ball · board · leaves · degree · race

  1. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. court — for sport
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. ground — crushed
  5. court — of law
  6. race — humankind
  7. board — a committee
  8. board — to get on
  9. race — the arms race
  10. kid — to tease
  11. ground — a position
  12. degree — an amount
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. degree — temperature
  15. ground — the earth
  16. court — of a king
  17. ball — a great time
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. kid — child
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. degree — from a university
  23. ball — a dance
  24. race — a contest

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