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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 120 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: rock · net · sharp · cap · rash · pit · kid · degree

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. pit — in a race
  4. net — after costs
  5. degree — temperature
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. cap — a hat
  8. rock — a stone
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. rash — a series
  11. rock — music
  12. kid — child
  13. cap — a lid
  14. rash — hasty
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. sharp — clever
  17. net — for catching
  18. net — in sport
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. cap — of ice
  21. degree — from a university
  22. pit — a hole
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. kid — to tease

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