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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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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: chair · mate · snap · foot · bark · net · ruler · degree

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  20. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. ruler — a monarch
  4. degree — from a university
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. mate — a partner
  7. net — in sport
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. degree — an amount
  10. mate — to breed
  11. degree — temperature
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. net — for catching
  15. foot — a measure
  16. mate — a friend
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. snap — to click
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. chair — a leader
  22. bark — to shout
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. bark — of a tree

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