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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. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. degree — temperature
  3. staff — employees
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. fork — in a road
  6. rest — what's left
  7. degree — an amount
  8. net — for catching
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. wake — a trail
  11. row — to paddle
  12. rest — a break
  13. row — a line
  14. net — in sport
  15. key — in music
  16. key — for a lock
  17. rest — what's left
  18. staff — employees
  19. staff — a stick
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. key — the most important part
  24. degree — from a university

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