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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: snap · cell · degree · net · mug · squash · dip · game

  1. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  10. Where did you ________________ them?
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. net — after costs
  3. degree — from a university
  4. squash — the sport
  5. net — for catching
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. game — wild animals
  9. mug — a cup
  10. mug — to rob
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. cell — a phone
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. snap — to click
  15. game — a match
  16. net — in sport
  17. degree — an amount
  18. cell — in biology
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. mug — a face
  21. degree — temperature
  22. squash — to crush
  23. dip — to sink
  24. cell — in a prison

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