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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. degree — an amount
  3. cell — a phone
  4. degree — temperature
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. cell — in biology
  8. net — after costs
  9. bore — to tire
  10. hand — help
  11. net — for catching
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. hand — in cards
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. bore — to drill
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. degree — from a university
  18. cell — in a prison

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