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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. club — for dancing
  3. bat — the animal
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. game — wild animals
  6. degree — temperature
  7. rule — government
  8. net — in sport
  9. club — a group
  10. bear — the animal
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. bear — the animal
  14. net — for catching
  15. wind — moving air
  16. degree — an amount
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. net — after costs
  20. degree — from a university
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. wind — moving air
  23. club — for golf
  24. rule — a law

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