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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: season · racket · ruler · content · bat · degree · club · game

  1. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. club — for dancing
  3. ruler — a monarch
  4. content — the amount
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. club — a group
  8. season — of the year
  9. bat — the animal
  10. club — for golf
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. content — happy
  13. game — wild animals
  14. season — in sport
  15. degree — temperature
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. game — a match
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. degree — an amount
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. degree — from a university
  24. game — a kind of play

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