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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: degree · ground · object · ball · squash · wind · season · coach

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. season — of the year
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. object — an aim
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. ball — a great time
  7. object — to protest
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. ball — a dance
  10. squash — the sport
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. ground — a position
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. degree — an amount
  15. degree — temperature
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. degree — from a university
  18. object — a thing
  19. season — in sport
  20. wind — moving air
  21. squash — to crush
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. ground — crushed
  24. ground — the earth

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