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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. cell — in biology
  3. cell — a phone
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. degree — an amount
  6. net — in sport
  7. race — humankind
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. scale — in music
  11. net — after costs
  12. scale — size or range
  13. pit — in a race
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. race — a contest
  18. degree — temperature
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. wake — a trail
  21. degree — from a university
  22. pit — a hole
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. race — the arms race

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