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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 120 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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. degree — temperature
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. net — for catching
  5. net — in sport
  6. degree — an amount
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. spring — the season
  9. spring — of water
  10. spring — a coil
  11. net — after costs
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. rash — hasty
  15. pop — soda
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. rash — a series
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. pitch — completely
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. pop — to visit
  24. pop — music

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