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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. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. net — after costs
  3. degree — from a university
  4. craft — boats
  5. key — for a lock
  6. key — the most important part
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. net — for catching
  9. bound — tied together
  10. net — in sport
  11. dip — to sink
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. bound — obliged
  14. craft — a skill
  15. branch — a division
  16. key — in music
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. degree — an amount
  20. mug — a face
  21. bound — certain
  22. degree — temperature
  23. mug — a cup
  24. branch — of a bank

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