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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. degree — from a university
  3. march — the month
  4. squash — the sport
  5. row — to paddle
  6. march — the month
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. degree — an amount
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. row — a line
  12. ball — a great time
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. ball — a dance
  15. degree — temperature
  16. net — after costs
  17. march — music
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. squash — to crush
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. net — for catching
  24. net — in sport

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