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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. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  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. net — after costs
  2. degree — an amount
  3. degree — from a university
  4. spell — magic
  5. spell — letters
  6. tear — from crying
  7. rule — government
  8. spell — a short time
  9. content — happy
  10. bulb — for light
  11. net — for catching
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. jam — in traffic
  14. rule — a law
  15. net — in sport
  16. tear — to rip
  17. bulb — for light
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. content — the amount
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. jam — to spread on bread
  22. tear — from crying
  23. jam — a tight spot
  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