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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: toast · racket · court · game · coach · season · degree · bound

  1. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. season — of the year
  3. degree — an amount
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. court — of law
  6. game — a match
  7. bound — tied together
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. degree — from a university
  12. toast — the most admired
  13. court — of a king
  14. court — for sport
  15. bound — obliged
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. toast — a drink to someone
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. season — in sport
  20. bound — certain
  21. degree — temperature
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. game — wild animals
  24. racket — for tennis

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