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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. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. What do you think of the new ________________?
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. net — after costs
  3. file — a line of people
  4. net — in sport
  5. degree — temperature
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. march — the month
  9. file — a tool
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. face — to confront
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. march — music
  15. face — part of the head
  16. content — the amount
  17. face — to point toward
  18. march — the month
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. net — for catching
  21. file — a document
  22. degree — an amount
  23. content — happy
  24. leaves — to go away

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