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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. degree — from a university
  3. hand — help
  4. net — after costs
  5. can — a tin
  6. degree — an amount
  7. hand — in cards
  8. drill — a practice
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. bulb — for light
  11. can — a tin
  12. drill — army training
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. degree — temperature
  16. can — to be able to
  17. net — in sport
  18. bulb — for light
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. court — for sport
  21. drill — the tool
  22. stem — to come from
  23. court — of law
  24. court — of a king

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