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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: pass · degree · bat · band · court · fan · sharp · mouse

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  7. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. You can't go backstage without a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. degree — from a university
  3. court — of a king
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. pass — to succeed
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. band — a ring
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. bat — the animal
  12. degree — an amount
  13. degree — temperature
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. band — a music group
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. court — for sport
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. pass — to spend time
  21. sharp — clever
  22. mouse — for a computer
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. pass — a permit

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