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

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  7. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  8. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. toast — bread
  3. clip — to cut
  4. degree — an amount
  5. clip — for paper
  6. toast — a drink to someone
  7. toast — the most admired
  8. cue — a signal
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. clip — a video
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. ball — a dance
  13. kick — in football
  14. degree — temperature
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. cue — for pool
  17. cue — a hint
  18. ball — a great time

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