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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. degree — from a university
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. pop — music
  5. net — after costs
  6. scale — in music
  7. net — in sport
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. degree — temperature
  10. pop — to visit
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. present — a gift
  14. present — the time now
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. degree — an amount
  18. pop — soda
  19. kid — to tease
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. present — there
  22. scale — size or range
  23. bark — to shout
  24. kid — child

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