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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. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  2. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. foot — a measure
  3. season — of the year
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. pitch — completely
  7. season — in sport
  8. degree — from a university
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. foot — the bottom
  11. file — a tool
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. net — for catching
  14. degree — temperature
  15. degree — an amount
  16. file — a document
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. net — in sport
  19. shower — rain
  20. net — after costs
  21. file — a line of people
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. shower — to wash
  24. pitch — a sports field

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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