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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: court · club · ground · sharp · degree · hand · prune · can

  1. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. club — a group
  4. prune — to trim
  5. degree — an amount
  6. club — for golf
  7. can — a tin
  8. court — for sport
  9. ground — crushed
  10. club — for dancing
  11. ground — the earth
  12. court — of a king
  13. ground — a position
  14. court — of law
  15. hand — help
  16. sharp — clever
  17. prune — to trim
  18. degree — temperature
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. can — a tin
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. hand — in cards
  23. can — to be able to
  24. degree — from a university

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