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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. stand — to bear
  3. net — in sport
  4. pass — a permit
  5. net — for catching
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. branch — a division
  8. pass — to succeed
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. row — a line
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. degree — temperature
  13. wound — an injury
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. degree — an amount
  17. row — to paddle
  18. net — after costs
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. degree — from a university
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. hand — help
  24. wound — an injury

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