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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: bark · swing · bank · firm · degree · ball · court · track

  1. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  16. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  19. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. bank — for money
  3. swing — to play on
  4. swing — in golf
  5. degree — an amount
  6. ball — a great time
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. bark — to shout
  9. swing — music
  10. court — for sport
  11. track — a song
  12. court — of law
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. track — a path
  15. firm — a company
  16. bank — for money
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. firm — decided
  19. bank — of a river
  20. ball — a dance
  21. degree — from a university
  22. court — of a king
  23. track — to keep track
  24. degree — temperature

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