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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. net — in sport
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. court — for sport
  5. court — of a king
  6. net — after costs
  7. present — the time now
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. net — for catching
  12. degree — an amount
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. bass — the fish
  15. kick — in football
  16. present — a gift
  17. dip — to sink
  18. degree — from a university
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. present — there
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. court — of law
  24. degree — temperature

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