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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. clip — a video
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. degree — an amount
  5. cue — a signal
  6. object — a thing
  7. object — an aim
  8. cue — for pool
  9. cue — a hint
  10. bound — obliged
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. wound — an injury
  13. degree — from a university
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. bound — certain
  16. object — to protest
  17. clip — to cut
  18. degree — temperature
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. pitch — completely
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. bound — tied together
  24. wound — an injury

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