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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. degree — an amount
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. net — after costs
  5. dip — to sink
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. track — a song
  8. degree — from a university
  9. bass — low music
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. track — a path
  13. perch — the fish
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. bat — the animal
  18. degree — temperature
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. net — in sport
  21. track — to keep track
  22. bass — the fish
  23. net — for catching
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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