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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 116 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. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. rock — a stone
  2. net — after costs
  3. net — in sport
  4. season — in sport
  5. season — of the year
  6. rock — music
  7. cap — a lid
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. swing — in golf
  10. kid — to tease
  11. cap — of ice
  12. swing — to play on
  13. cap — a hat
  14. kid — child
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. degree — an amount
  17. land — a country
  18. degree — from a university
  19. degree — temperature
  20. net — for catching
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. land — ground
  23. swing — music
  24. land — to come down

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