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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: degree · ball · object · content · last · pitch · game · trunk

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. game — wild animals
  4. object — an aim
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. last — finally
  7. object — to protest
  8. degree — temperature
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. content — happy
  12. object — a thing
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. pitch — completely
  17. ball — a great time
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. degree — an amount
  20. game — a match
  21. content — the amount
  22. last — to go on
  23. degree — from a university
  24. ball — a dance

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