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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: fan · game · degree · swing · object · deal · net · leaves

  1. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  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 — in sport
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. swing — to play on
  4. object — to protest
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. game — wild animals
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. object — a thing
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. swing — music
  11. net — for catching
  12. degree — temperature
  13. degree — an amount
  14. object — an aim
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. swing — in golf
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. deal — to handle
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. net — after costs
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. game — a match
  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