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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. net — for catching
  3. rest — a break
  4. mate — a friend
  5. net — in sport
  6. current — happening now
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. rest — what's left
  9. ball — a great time
  10. bass — low music
  11. degree — from a university
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. ball — a dance
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. degree — temperature
  16. net — after costs
  17. bass — the fish
  18. mate — to breed
  19. mate — a partner
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. current — of water
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. current — electric
  24. rest — what's left

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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