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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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  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. fan — a supporter
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. rock — a stone
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. net — after costs
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. bark — to shout
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. ball — a great time
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. net — in sport
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. rock — music
  19. ball — a dance
  20. net — for catching
  21. degree — an amount
  22. degree — temperature
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  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