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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 took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. net — after costs
  4. object — an aim
  5. scale — in music
  6. degree — temperature
  7. fork — in a road
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. cold — an illness
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. scale — size or range
  12. net — in sport
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. object — a thing
  19. degree — from a university
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. cold — not warm
  22. degree — an amount
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. object — to protest

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