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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: mark · row · fork · tube · bulb · net · bat · degree

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. mark — a trace
  3. row — a line
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. degree — from a university
  6. tube — a container
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. net — for catching
  9. net — in sport
  10. fork — in a road
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. degree — an amount
  13. degree — temperature
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. bat — the animal
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. bulb — for light
  18. bulb — for light
  19. mark — a grade
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. tube — the underground
  24. row — to paddle

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