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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. degree — from a university
  3. degree — temperature
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. mine — for digging
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. bound — obliged
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. pitch — completely
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. toast — bread
  16. prune — to trim
  17. net — for catching
  18. prune — to trim
  19. toast — the most admired
  20. net — in sport
  21. toast — a drink to someone
  22. bound — certain
  23. degree — an amount
  24. bound — tied together

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