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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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. net — after costs
  3. chip — in a computer
  4. staff — a stick
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. net — for catching
  7. bat — the animal
  8. chip — to eat
  9. shower — rain
  10. degree — temperature
  11. staff — employees
  12. key — for a lock
  13. pitch — completely
  14. degree — from a university
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. key — in music
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. chip — for betting
  20. degree — an amount
  21. staff — employees
  22. key — the most important part
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. shower — to wash

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