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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 116 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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. prune — to trim
  3. net — after costs
  4. net — for catching
  5. degree — from a university
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. degree — temperature
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. prune — to trim
  14. plane — a tool
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. degree — an amount
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. sharp — clever

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