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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. He is an ace ________________.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. When will it ________________ you to start?
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. staff — a stick
  3. net — after costs
  4. net — for catching
  5. staff — employees
  6. suit — in cards
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. saw — the tool
  11. saw — the tool
  12. suit — clothes
  13. net — in sport
  14. content — happy
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. degree — an amount
  17. kick — in football
  18. degree — from a university
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. suit — to fit
  21. staff — employees
  22. degree — temperature
  23. content — the amount
  24. kick — with a leg

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