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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. When will it ________________ you to start?
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. degree — an amount
  3. tube — the underground
  4. net — for catching
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. suit — to fit
  7. game — wild animals
  8. squash — the sport
  9. net — after costs
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. suit — in cards
  13. wake — a trail
  14. tube — a container
  15. squash — to crush
  16. game — a match
  17. suit — clothes
  18. net — in sport
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. degree — temperature
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. dip — to sink
  24. game — a kind of play

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