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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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. net — for catching
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. bore — to drill
  5. spell — letters
  6. net — in sport
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. board — a committee
  9. bore — to tire
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. degree — temperature
  13. band — a music group
  14. spell — magic
  15. band — a ring
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. degree — an amount
  19. board — to get on
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. degree — from a university
  22. bat — the animal
  23. spell — a short time
  24. net — after costs

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