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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: foot · straw · pitch · degree · mouse · kick · net · bank

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. foot — part of the body
  3. foot — a measure
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. foot — the bottom
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. degree — from a university
  9. bank — for money
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. bank — of a river
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. net — for catching
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. kick — in football
  19. degree — temperature
  20. pitch — completely
  21. bank — for money
  22. degree — an amount
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. net — in sport

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