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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 120 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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. When will it ________________ you to start?
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. suit — in cards
  3. net — for catching
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. bat — the animal
  6. root — the cause
  7. degree — from a university
  8. suit — to fit
  9. root — of a plant
  10. root — of a word
  11. kid — to tease
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. current — electric
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. suit — clothes
  17. net — after costs
  18. kid — child
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. degree — temperature
  21. current — of water
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. net — in sport
  24. current — happening now

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