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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: degree · racket · net · safe · sharp · coach · last · pop

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. net — for catching
  4. pop — to visit
  5. pop — soda
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. last — to go on
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. degree — temperature
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. sharp — clever
  16. pop — music
  17. last — final
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. net — after costs
  20. net — in sport
  21. last — finally
  22. degree — an amount
  23. safe — a strongbox
  24. racket — for tennis

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