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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. pit — a hole
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. pit — in a race
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. present — the time now
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. present — a gift
  15. sharp — clever
  16. degree — from a university
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. net — in sport
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. present — there
  21. net — for catching
  22. degree — an amount
  23. degree — temperature
  24. coach — a trainer

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