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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.

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: bat · ball · bowl · bore · cold · lean · degree · court

  1. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. degree — temperature
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. degree — an amount
  6. bore — to tire
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. bore — to drill
  9. lean — to bend
  10. lean — thin
  11. bat — the animal
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. court — for sport
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. court — of law
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. degree — from a university
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. cold — not warm
  20. cold — an illness
  21. court — of a king
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. ball — a great time
  24. bowl — a dish

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