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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 120 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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. net — in sport
  3. degree — temperature
  4. land — a country
  5. degree — from a university
  6. game — wild animals
  7. degree — an amount
  8. net — after costs
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. track — a path
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. vault — a safe
  13. wind — moving air
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. land — ground
  18. track — a song
  19. wind — moving air
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. game — a match
  22. track — to keep track
  23. rush — hurry
  24. net — for catching

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