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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 120 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. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. pitch — completely
  3. track — a song
  4. degree — temperature
  5. season — of the year
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. track — a path
  9. degree — from a university
  10. staff — employees
  11. season — in sport
  12. clip — a video
  13. staff — employees
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. clip — for paper
  16. bat — the animal
  17. track — to keep track
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. clip — to cut
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. degree — an amount
  24. nail — for a hammer

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