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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 · season · prune · squash · degree · court · scale · swing

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. prune — to trim
  3. scale — size or range
  4. net — for catching
  5. season — in sport
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. squash — to crush
  8. scale — in music
  9. court — of a king
  10. swing — music
  11. net — in sport
  12. prune — to trim
  13. degree — from a university
  14. squash — the sport
  15. court — for sport
  16. court — of law
  17. net — after costs
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. degree — an amount
  21. season — of the year
  22. swing — in golf
  23. swing — to play on
  24. prune — the fruit

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