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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. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. net — in sport
  3. march — music
  4. saw — the tool
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. march — the month
  8. saw — the tool
  9. pop — music
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. march — the month
  12. net — for catching
  13. kick — in football
  14. degree — temperature
  15. pop — to visit
  16. degree — from a university
  17. rash — a series
  18. pop — soda
  19. degree — an amount
  20. rash — hasty
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. calf — a young animal

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