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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. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. current — happening now
  3. ball — a great time
  4. degree — an amount
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. net — for catching
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. degree — from a university
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. bear — the animal
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. net — in sport
  13. current — electric
  14. ball — a dance
  15. bear — the animal
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. degree — temperature
  18. current — of water
  19. perch — the fish
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. branch — a division
  24. sharp — clever

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