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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. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. object — a thing
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. degree — temperature
  8. net — in sport
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. net — for catching
  11. object — an aim
  12. capital — a city
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. pound — a weight
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. capital — money
  18. degree — from a university
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. degree — an amount
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. object — to protest

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