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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: degree · toast · court · board · mine · bowl · band · fall

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. board — a committee
  6. degree — an amount
  7. degree — from a university
  8. fall — to drop
  9. court — for sport
  10. mine — for digging
  11. fall — the season
  12. toast — a drink to someone
  13. fall — to drop
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. band — a ring
  18. toast — bread
  19. band — a music group
  20. toast — the most admired
  21. court — of a king
  22. degree — temperature
  23. board — to get on
  24. board — a flat piece

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