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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: degree · mouse · toast · roll · court · race · ball · bay

  1. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  8. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  19. My mare is ________________ in color.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. degree — from a university
  3. toast — the most admired
  4. race — a contest
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. ball — a dance
  7. toast — a drink to someone
  8. bay — a part of the sea
  9. ball — a great time
  10. roll — a cake
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. bay — to keep at bay
  14. court — of a king
  15. court — for sport
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. court — of law
  18. roll — a list
  19. bay — a horse colour
  20. degree — an amount
  21. degree — temperature
  22. race — the arms race
  23. race — humankind
  24. ball — a round shape

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