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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. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. wave — of the sea
  2. net — in sport
  3. net — for catching
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. degree — temperature
  6. court — for sport
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. court — of a king
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. chip — to eat
  12. degree — from a university
  13. court — of law
  14. net — after costs
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. chip — for betting
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. pitch — completely
  21. bark — to shout
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. degree — an amount

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