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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. Where did you ________________ them?

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. degree — from a university
  3. degree — an amount
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. net — for catching
  6. wound — an injury
  7. mug — a face
  8. row — to paddle
  9. mark — a grade
  10. row — a line
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. wound — an injury
  15. degree — temperature
  16. mark — a trace
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. net — in sport
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. net — after costs
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. mug — a cup
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. mug — to rob

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