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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. Recycle the empty soda ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. can — a tin
  6. net — after costs
  7. field — a subject
  8. net — for catching
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. pound — a weight
  11. net — in sport
  12. degree — temperature
  13. field — farmland
  14. wind — moving air
  15. field — for sport
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. can — to be able to
  19. degree — an amount
  20. plane — a tool
  21. cell — in biology
  22. degree — from a university
  23. wind — moving air
  24. can — a tin

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