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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 speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. I've got to change the light ________________.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  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. wake — a trail
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. clip — for paper
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. degree — an amount
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. bulb — for light
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. face — part of the head
  15. clip — to cut
  16. degree — temperature
  17. face — to confront
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. face — to point toward
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. bulb — for light
  23. degree — from a university
  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