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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 124 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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. My mare is ________________ in color.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. net — after costs
  3. net — in sport
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. field — for sport
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. field — a subject
  8. perch — the fish
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. bay — a part of the sea
  14. foot — a measure
  15. bay — a horse colour
  16. sharp — clever
  17. degree — temperature
  18. foot — the bottom
  19. net — for catching
  20. bay — to keep at bay
  21. snap — to click
  22. degree — an amount
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. field — farmland

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