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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 120 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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. net — after costs
  3. mark — a trace
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. degree — temperature
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. net — for catching
  9. degree — an amount
  10. net — in sport
  11. drill — army training
  12. drill — the tool
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. ball — a great time
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. drill — a practice
  18. board — a committee
  19. board — to get on
  20. ball — a dance
  21. hand — help
  22. hand — in cards
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. mark — a grade

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