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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. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. net — in sport
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. sharp — clever
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. net — for catching
  8. degree — an amount
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. capital — a city
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. bear — the animal
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. net — after costs
  19. capital — money
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. degree — temperature
  23. bear — the animal
  24. degree — from a university

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