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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. cap — of ice
  3. cap — a hat
  4. staff — a stick
  5. hand — help
  6. net — in sport
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. cap — a lid
  9. degree — temperature
  10. race — the arms race
  11. net — after costs
  12. hand — in cards
  13. pop — music
  14. degree — from a university
  15. bark — to shout
  16. race — humankind
  17. pop — soda
  18. pop — to visit
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. staff — employees
  21. race — a contest
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. degree — an amount
  24. staff — employees

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