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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. stem — to come from
  3. degree — temperature
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. net — for catching
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. net — in sport
  8. bound — certain
  9. can — a tin
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. degree — from a university
  12. lie — to recline
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. bound — obliged
  15. game — wild animals
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. can — to be able to
  18. content — the amount
  19. bound — tied together
  20. degree — an amount
  21. can — a tin
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. game — a match
  24. content — happy

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