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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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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: degree · court · pit · chip · net · bore · race · deal

  1. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. deal — to handle
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. bore — to tire
  6. race — the arms race
  7. pit — in a race
  8. court — of a king
  9. degree — an amount
  10. race — a contest
  11. degree — temperature
  12. chip — to eat
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. degree — from a university
  15. pit — a hole
  16. chip — for betting
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. court — of law
  19. race — humankind
  20. court — for sport
  21. net — for catching
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. bore — to drill
  24. net — after costs

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