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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. When will it ________________ you to start?
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  18. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. degree — an amount
  4. suit — to fit
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. sharp — clever
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. clip — to cut
  10. bear — the animal
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. degree — temperature
  13. mark — a grade
  14. clip — for paper
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. kick — in football
  17. suit — clothes
  18. suit — in cards
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. mark — a trace
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. bear — the animal
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. clip — a video

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