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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 · mate · degree · lean · ball · prune · temple · court

  1. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. When was this ________________ built?
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. degree — from a university
  3. prune — to trim
  4. prune — to trim
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. court — for sport
  7. lean — to bend
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. ball — a great time
  12. mate — a friend
  13. mate — a partner
  14. lean — thin
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. degree — an amount
  17. net — for catching
  18. court — of a king
  19. degree — temperature
  20. net — in sport
  21. mate — to breed
  22. net — after costs
  23. temple — side of the head
  24. court — of law

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