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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. degree — an amount
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. pitch — completely
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. toast — the most admired
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. toast — bread
  10. net — after costs
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. toast — a drink to someone
  14. hand — help
  15. face — to confront
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. face — part of the head
  19. face — to point toward
  20. net — for catching
  21. net — in sport
  22. degree — temperature
  23. degree — from a university
  24. hand — in cards

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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