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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. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. Where did you ________________ them?
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. pass — to spend time
  3. degree — temperature
  4. mug — to rob
  5. net — in sport
  6. net — after costs
  7. degree — an amount
  8. net — for catching
  9. pass — to succeed
  10. pass — a permit
  11. wake — a trail
  12. file — a document
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. capital — a city
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. file — a line of people
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. capital — money
  20. mug — a cup
  21. fork — in a road
  22. file — a tool
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. mug — a face

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