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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 116 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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  20. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. degree — temperature
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. field — farmland
  7. saw — the tool
  8. degree — an amount
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. net — after costs
  11. net — in sport
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. field — for sport
  15. wind — moving air
  16. net — for catching
  17. rush — hurry
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. safe — a strongbox
  21. field — a subject
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. saw — the tool
  24. wind — moving air

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