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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. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. Where did you ________________ them?
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. When will it ________________ you to start?
  15. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — in cards
  2. degree — an amount
  3. mug — a cup
  4. degree — from a university
  5. suit — clothes
  6. net — after costs
  7. mug — to rob
  8. prune — to trim
  9. fall — to drop
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. degree — temperature
  13. net — for catching
  14. suit — to fit
  15. mug — a face
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. net — in sport
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. fall — the season
  20. prune — to trim
  21. bark — to shout
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. fall — to drop
  24. pitch — completely

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