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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.

Make a worksheet

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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. The tickets are free of ________________.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. clip — for paper
  3. charge — in control
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. clip — to cut
  6. charge — a price
  7. mark — a trace
  8. charge — electricity
  9. degree — from a university
  10. scale — in music
  11. mark — a grade
  12. lean — to bend
  13. clip — a video
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. lean — thin
  16. degree — temperature
  17. scale — size or range
  18. lean — to rest against

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