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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  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 — for catching
  2. bat — the animal
  3. key — the most important part
  4. mate — a friend
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. key — for a lock
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. tube — a container
  10. wound — an injury
  11. degree — temperature
  12. wound — an injury
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. degree — from a university
  16. mate — to breed
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. net — in sport
  19. tube — the underground
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. mate — a partner
  22. net — after costs
  23. key — in music
  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