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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 116 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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. fall — the season
  3. net — after costs
  4. net — in sport
  5. rest — a break
  6. deal — to handle
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. rest — what's left
  10. drill — a practice
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. drill — the tool
  13. fall — to drop
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. rest — what's left
  17. degree — temperature
  18. fall — to drop
  19. degree — from a university
  20. net — for catching
  21. fork — in a road
  22. drill — army training
  23. deal — a big deal
  24. dip — to sink

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