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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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468
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: date · net · degree · nail · mine · spring · mug · pitch

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. Where did you ________________ them?
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. net — for catching
  3. net — after costs
  4. degree — an amount
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. mug — a cup
  7. degree — temperature
  8. pitch — completely
  9. date — the fruit
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. spring — a coil
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. mug — to rob
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. spring — of water
  19. degree — from a university
  20. mug — a face
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. spring — the season
  23. net — in sport
  24. mine — for digging

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