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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. face — part of the head
  3. degree — temperature
  4. row — to paddle
  5. degree — an amount
  6. net — after costs
  7. band — a ring
  8. land — to come down
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. net — for catching
  11. row — a line
  12. land — a country
  13. face — to confront
  14. band — a music group
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. face — to point toward
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. net — in sport
  19. land — ground
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. pitcher — a jug

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