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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. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  3. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. lash — an eyelash
  3. can — to be able to
  4. net — in sport
  5. press — a publisher
  6. can — a tin
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. foot — a measure
  11. capital — money
  12. degree — from a university
  13. wake — a trail
  14. press — newspapers
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. net — for catching
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. press — to push
  20. can — a tin
  21. degree — temperature
  22. capital — a city
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  24. degree — an amount

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