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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. last — final
  4. net — in sport
  5. last — finally
  6. game — wild animals
  7. bear — the animal
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. last — to go on
  11. degree — an amount
  12. degree — from a university
  13. swing — music
  14. hand — help
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. swing — to play on
  17. net — after costs
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. hand — in cards
  20. game — a match
  21. swing — in golf
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. bear — the animal
  24. degree — temperature

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