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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  11. When will it ________________ you to start?
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  14. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. net — for catching
  3. degree — from a university
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. net — in sport
  6. clip — a video
  7. net — after costs
  8. firm — a company
  9. content — the amount
  10. firm — decided
  11. suit — to fit
  12. clip — to cut
  13. suit — clothes
  14. suit — in cards
  15. content — happy
  16. degree — an amount
  17. clip — for paper
  18. degree — temperature

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