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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. That must've been a ________________.
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  8. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. firm — a company
  4. race — a contest
  5. degree — temperature
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. firm — decided
  8. firm — steady
  9. race — the arms race
  10. race — humankind
  11. wind — moving air
  12. net — in sport
  13. court — for sport
  14. court — of law
  15. wind — moving air
  16. board — to get on
  17. degree — from a university
  18. board — a committee
  19. net — for catching
  20. degree — an amount
  21. board — a flat piece
  22. rush — hurry
  23. court — of a king
  24. wind — to turn a key

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