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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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. foot — a measure
  4. net — after costs
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. file — a line of people
  9. degree — an amount
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. fork — in a road
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. track — a path
  14. track — to keep track
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. foot — part of the body
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. file — a tool
  19. file — a document
  20. net — in sport
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. net — for catching
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. track — a song

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