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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. spring — of water
  4. squash — the sport
  5. degree — temperature
  6. net — after costs
  7. fork — in a road
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. degree — from a university
  10. face — to confront
  11. bear — the animal
  12. squash — to crush
  13. spring — the season
  14. face — part of the head
  15. face — to point toward
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. net — in sport
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. bear — the animal
  20. degree — an amount
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. spring — a coil
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. wake — a trail

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