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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. When will it ________________ you to start?
  12. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. bass — low music
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. suit — clothes
  5. net — for catching
  6. net — after costs
  7. kid — child
  8. game — a match
  9. game — wild animals
  10. spring — a coil
  11. suit — to fit
  12. suit — in cards
  13. kid — to tease
  14. bass — the fish
  15. net — in sport
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. spring — of water
  18. spring — the season
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. degree — an amount
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. degree — from a university
  24. degree — temperature

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