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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: net · chip · ball · present · degree · court · pitcher · racket

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. court — for sport
  4. chip — to eat
  5. court — of law
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. present — a gift
  10. degree — an amount
  11. degree — temperature
  12. chip — for betting
  13. ball — a dance
  14. ball — a great time
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. net — for catching
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. present — the time now
  19. court — of a king
  20. net — in sport
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. present — there
  23. net — after costs
  24. racket — for tennis

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