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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'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. net — in sport
  3. mate — a partner
  4. degree — from a university
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. cue — for pool
  7. net — after costs
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. mate — to breed
  10. degree — temperature
  11. ball — a great time
  12. net — for catching
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. degree — an amount
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. cue — a signal
  17. ball — a dance
  18. mate — a friend

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