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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. When will it ________________ you to start?
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. net — for catching
  3. swing — to play on
  4. suit — clothes
  5. swing — in golf
  6. net — in sport
  7. wound — an injury
  8. spell — a short time
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. degree — temperature
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. net — after costs
  13. suit — in cards
  14. spell — magic
  15. degree — an amount
  16. swing — music
  17. cell — in biology
  18. root — of a plant
  19. spell — letters
  20. root — the cause
  21. root — of a word
  22. wound — an injury
  23. suit — to fit
  24. cell — a phone

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