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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 120 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. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. drill — army training
  3. net — in sport
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. prune — to trim
  6. drill — a practice
  7. degree — temperature
  8. spell — letters
  9. season — in sport
  10. swing — music
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. net — for catching
  13. drill — the tool
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. prune — to trim
  16. season — of the year
  17. degree — an amount
  18. degree — from a university
  19. spell — a short time
  20. swing — to play on
  21. spell — magic
  22. wake — a trail
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. swing — in golf

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