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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. net — in sport
  3. degree — an amount
  4. net — after costs
  5. capital — money
  6. degree — temperature
  7. pound — a weight
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. capital — a city
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. board — to get on
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. board — a committee
  14. wake — a trail
  15. degree — from a university
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. net — for catching
  18. 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