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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. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. degree — temperature
  3. object — to protest
  4. ball — a great time
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. degree — from a university
  9. object — an aim
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. present — there
  12. object — a thing
  13. present — the time now
  14. net — in sport
  15. band — a music group
  16. degree — an amount
  17. present — a gift
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. band — a ring
  21. ball — a dance
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. net — for catching
  24. kick — in football

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