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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. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. safe — a strongbox
  3. net — in sport
  4. pop — music
  5. mark — a grade
  6. net — for catching
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. net — after costs
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. mark — a trace
  11. degree — from a university
  12. cap — of ice
  13. branch — a division
  14. degree — an amount
  15. cap — a lid
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. cap — a hat
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. game — a match
  21. pop — to visit
  22. degree — temperature
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. game — wild animals

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