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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. degree — from a university
  3. mate — to breed
  4. net — for catching
  5. object — an aim
  6. last — final
  7. mate — a partner
  8. object — to protest
  9. mate — a friend
  10. object — a thing
  11. bass — the fish
  12. degree — an amount
  13. bass — low music
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. club — a group
  16. last — to go on
  17. net — in sport
  18. club — for dancing
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. degree — temperature
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. last — finally
  24. club — for golf

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