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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. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. Where did you ________________ them?
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. row — a line
  3. degree — an amount
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. net — for catching
  6. row — to paddle
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. mug — a cup
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. degree — temperature
  11. mug — to rob
  12. rest — a break
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. rest — what's left
  16. degree — from a university
  17. mug — a face
  18. net — in sport
  19. rest — what's left
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. roll — a list
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. net — after costs

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