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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. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. The tickets are free of ________________.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. Where can I ________________ my mobile?

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. charge — in control
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. staff — employees
  5. spring — of water
  6. net — for catching
  7. track — a path
  8. net — in sport
  9. degree — temperature
  10. chair — a leader
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. degree — from a university
  13. spring — a coil
  14. squash — the sport
  15. degree — an amount
  16. charge — a price
  17. staff — a stick
  18. track — a song
  19. track — to keep track
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. staff — employees
  22. squash — to crush
  23. spring — the season
  24. charge — electricity

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