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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. degree — an amount
  3. shower — to wash
  4. face — to point toward
  5. face — part of the head
  6. net — after costs
  7. shower — rain
  8. pound — a weight
  9. degree — from a university
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. net — in sport
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. face — to confront
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. deal — to handle
  17. degree — temperature
  18. deal — an agreement

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