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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 fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. ball — a dance
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. degree — an amount
  6. bass — low music
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. ball — a great time
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. net — in sport
  11. net — after costs
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. kid — child
  14. kid — to tease
  15. degree — temperature
  16. net — for catching
  17. branch — a division
  18. degree — from a university
  19. pitch — completely
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. lash — an eyelash

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