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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. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  9. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. The tickets are free of ________________.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. game — wild animals
  6. pit — in a race
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. charge — in control
  9. charge — electricity
  10. net — after costs
  11. ball — a great time
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. net — in sport
  15. deal — to handle
  16. game — a match
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. ball — a dance
  19. pit — a hole
  20. degree — an amount
  21. degree — from a university
  22. charge — a price
  23. degree — temperature
  24. net — for catching

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