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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. degree — from a university
  3. game — wild animals
  4. degree — an amount
  5. mate — to breed
  6. mate — a partner
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. mate — a friend
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. net — in sport
  11. bass — low music
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. game — a match
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. net — after costs
  18. degree — temperature
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. prune — to trim
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. dip — to sink
  23. prune — to trim
  24. bass — the fish

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