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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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. degree — temperature
  3. club — for dancing
  4. net — after costs
  5. club — a group
  6. march — the month
  7. spell — magic
  8. wound — an injury
  9. chair — a leader
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. march — the month
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. spell — a short time
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. wound — an injury
  16. club — for golf
  17. net — for catching
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. degree — from a university
  20. degree — an amount
  21. spell — letters
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. march — music

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