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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: ball · game · patient · snap · board · net · dip · degree

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. game — a match
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. snap — to click
  10. dip — to sink
  11. ball — a dance
  12. degree — temperature
  13. degree — an amount
  14. ball — a great time
  15. net — for catching
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. game — wild animals
  19. board — a committee
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. board — to get on
  23. net — in sport
  24. degree — from a university

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