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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: bowl · suit · roll · shower · lie · degree · net · saw

  1. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  23. When will it ________________ you to start?
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. degree — from a university
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. roll — a list
  6. saw — the tool
  7. degree — an amount
  8. net — for catching
  9. shower — rain
  10. roll — a cake
  11. net — after costs
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. suit — clothes
  15. saw — the tool
  16. lie — to recline
  17. shower — to wash
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. degree — temperature
  22. suit — in cards
  23. suit — to fit
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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