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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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. Where did you ________________ them?
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. I can't ________________ this cold.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  12. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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. coach — a trainer
  4. mug — to rob
  5. spell — letters
  6. land — a country
  7. stand — for spectators
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. stand — to bear
  10. spell — magic
  11. mug — a cup
  12. stand — on your feet
  13. net — for catching
  14. land — to come down
  15. degree — from a university
  16. degree — temperature
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. plane — a tool
  19. land — ground
  20. net — in sport
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. mug — a face
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. spell — a short time

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