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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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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: capital · degree · bass · court · dip · ground · charge · ball

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. The tickets are free of ________________.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  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 — from a university
  2. ball — a great time
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. charge — in control
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. degree — an amount
  7. bass — low music
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. degree — temperature
  10. charge — electricity
  11. ground — the earth
  12. capital — money
  13. bass — the fish
  14. ground — a position
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. capital — a city
  17. charge — a price
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. dip — to sink
  20. court — of law
  21. ground — crushed
  22. ball — a dance
  23. court — for sport
  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