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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 120 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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. game — a match
  3. degree — an amount
  4. net — after costs
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. net — in sport
  7. game — wild animals
  8. degree — temperature
  9. bear — the animal
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. net — for catching
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. bear — the animal
  16. snap — to click
  17. degree — from a university
  18. racket — a loud noise

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