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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 116 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: pitcher · race · degree · row · bank · rule · net · wave

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  7. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. race — humankind
  4. bank — of a river
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. bank — for money
  7. bank — for money
  8. degree — from a university
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. degree — temperature
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. degree — an amount
  13. race — a contest
  14. net — in sport
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. rule — government
  18. net — for catching
  19. row — to paddle
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. row — a line
  22. race — the arms race
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. rule — a law

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