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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. mate — a partner
  3. degree — an amount
  4. cell — in biology
  5. mate — to breed
  6. net — for catching
  7. staff — a stick
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. staff — employees
  10. wind — moving air
  11. pound — a weight
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. degree — from a university
  14. net — after costs
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. net — in sport
  18. degree — temperature
  19. cell — a phone
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. staff — employees
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. mate — a friend
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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