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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. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. degree — an amount
  3. season — in sport
  4. net — for catching
  5. ruler — a monarch
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. degree — from a university
  9. season — of the year
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. game — wild animals
  13. plane — a tool
  14. rash — a series
  15. game — a match
  16. rash — hasty
  17. degree — temperature
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. net — after costs
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. net — in sport

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