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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: chip · court · pop · rush · prune · swing · ball · degree

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. court — for sport
  4. swing — music
  5. chip — for betting
  6. pop — to visit
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. ball — a dance
  9. swing — in golf
  10. swing — to play on
  11. pop — soda
  12. ball — a great time
  13. degree — temperature
  14. court — of law
  15. pop — music
  16. degree — from a university
  17. prune — to trim
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. rush — hurry
  22. prune — to trim
  23. chip — to eat
  24. court — of a king

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