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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. I can't ________________ this cold.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. net — for catching
  3. staff — employees
  4. staff — employees
  5. pop — soda
  6. pop — to visit
  7. plane — a tool
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. degree — an amount
  10. degree — from a university
  11. staff — a stick
  12. degree — temperature
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. game — a match
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. pop — music
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. stand — to bear
  22. net — in sport
  23. game — wild animals
  24. stand — on your feet

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