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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. capital — money
  5. bass — the fish
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. bass — low music
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. degree — temperature
  10. bank — for money
  11. net — in sport
  12. capital — a city
  13. net — for catching
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. bank — of a river
  16. cell — in biology
  17. degree — an amount
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. plane — a tool
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. bank — for money
  23. cell — a phone
  24. net — after costs

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