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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. bank — for money
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. net — for catching
  5. object — to protest
  6. spell — a short time
  7. cue — for pool
  8. degree — from a university
  9. cell — in biology
  10. spell — letters
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. cue — a signal
  13. object — an aim
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. bank — for money
  16. net — after costs
  17. cue — a hint
  18. object — a thing
  19. degree — temperature
  20. bank — of a river
  21. spell — magic
  22. cell — a phone
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. net — in sport

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