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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. net — in sport
  4. game — wild animals
  5. degree — an amount
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. rash — hasty
  12. foot — part of the body
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. net — after costs
  17. degree — temperature
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. rash — a series
  20. game — a match
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. net — for catching
  23. foot — a measure
  24. foot — the bottom

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