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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. He is an ace ________________.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. march — the month
  3. cell — in biology
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. net — in sport
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. degree — from a university
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. ruler — a monarch
  13. march — the month
  14. game — a match
  15. game — wild animals
  16. net — for catching
  17. degree — temperature
  18. cell — a phone
  19. net — after costs
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. degree — an amount
  22. rush — hurry
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. march — music

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