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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 116 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 cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. When will it ________________ you to start?
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — clothes
  2. fall — to drop
  3. net — for catching
  4. hand — in cards
  5. mate — to breed
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. net — after costs
  8. fall — the season
  9. degree — an amount
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. scale — size or range
  12. suit — to fit
  13. field — farmland
  14. field — a subject
  15. mate — a friend
  16. fall — to drop
  17. suit — in cards
  18. degree — from a university
  19. hand — help
  20. field — for sport
  21. scale — in music
  22. mate — a partner
  23. degree — temperature
  24. net — in sport

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