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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: net · wind · court · degree · bear · pound · sharp · spell

  1. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. sharp — clever
  4. spell — a short time
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. spell — magic
  7. bear — the animal
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. wind — moving air
  10. court — for sport
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. court — of law
  13. bear — the animal
  14. net — in sport
  15. wind — moving air
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. degree — temperature
  18. court — of a king
  19. net — after costs
  20. degree — from a university
  21. spell — letters
  22. pound — a weight
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. degree — an amount

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