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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 120 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: coach · net · kid · degree · mine · sharp · pop · rush

  1. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. pop — music
  3. net — for catching
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. mine — for digging
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. degree — temperature
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. pop — soda
  11. kid — child
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. degree — from a university
  15. rush — hurry
  16. degree — an amount
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. kid — to tease
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. sharp — clever
  21. net — after costs
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. pop — to visit
  24. mine — belonging to me

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