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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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. degree — temperature
  3. march — the month
  4. rash — hasty
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. rest — a break
  7. rash — a series
  8. root — the cause
  9. court — of a king
  10. degree — from a university
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. court — for sport
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. march — the month
  15. root — of a word
  16. rest — what's left
  17. root — of a plant
  18. net — for catching
  19. net — after costs
  20. march — music
  21. rest — what's left
  22. degree — an amount
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. court — of law

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