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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. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. degree — an amount
  3. staff — a stick
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. degree — from a university
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. clip — for paper
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. can — to be able to
  10. pound — a weight
  11. clip — a video
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. can — a tin
  14. shower — rain
  15. race — humankind
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. staff — employees
  19. degree — temperature
  20. clip — to cut
  21. can — a tin
  22. shower — to wash
  23. race — a contest
  24. race — the arms race

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