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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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. Where did you ________________ them?
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  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. pitcher — a jug
  2. degree — an amount
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. mug — a face
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. degree — temperature
  7. clip — for paper
  8. squash — the sport
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. mug — a cup
  11. clip — to cut
  12. wound — an injury
  13. wound — an injury
  14. squash — to crush
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. mug — to rob
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. rush — hurry
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. degree — from a university
  23. pound — a weight
  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