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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. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. rest — what's left
  3. bass — the fish
  4. rest — what's left
  5. bass — low music
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. net — for catching
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. game — a match
  10. game — wild animals
  11. net — in sport
  12. degree — from a university
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. rest — a break
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. net — after costs
  18. degree — temperature
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. bear — the animal
  22. snap — to click
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. bear — the 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