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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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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: dip · net · ball · shower · game · rash · roll · degree

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. shower — rain
  3. ball — a great time
  4. roll — a list
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. shower — to wash
  8. net — for catching
  9. ball — a dance
  10. degree — from a university
  11. dip — to sink
  12. degree — temperature
  13. degree — an amount
  14. game — wild animals
  15. net — in sport
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. game — a match
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. rash — a series
  20. roll — a cake
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. rash — hasty

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