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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. court — for sport
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. degree — temperature
  6. mate — a friend
  7. wake — a trail
  8. mine — for digging
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. board — a committee
  11. net — in sport
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. degree — an amount
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. court — of law
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. court — of a king
  19. net — for catching
  20. board — to get on
  21. mate — to breed
  22. mate — a partner
  23. degree — from a university
  24. wake — before a funeral

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