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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. net — after costs
  4. net — for catching
  5. capital — a city
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. net — in sport
  8. game — wild animals
  9. staff — employees
  10. shower — to wash
  11. present — there
  12. capital — money
  13. game — a match
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. present — a gift
  16. degree — an amount
  17. pound — a weight
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. staff — employees
  20. present — the time now
  21. degree — from a university
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. staff — a stick
  24. shower — rain

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