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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: dip · court · swing · date · season · net · degree · band

  1. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. date — the fruit
  3. band — a music group
  4. court — for sport
  5. net — in sport
  6. degree — an amount
  7. degree — temperature
  8. court — of law
  9. net — for catching
  10. dip — to sink
  11. swing — music
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. season — in sport
  15. season — of the year
  16. swing — in golf
  17. net — after costs
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. court — of a king
  20. swing — to play on
  21. band — a ring
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. degree — from a university

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