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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. Where did you ________________ them?
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. content — happy
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. staff — employees
  5. clip — a video
  6. mug — a cup
  7. clip — to cut
  8. staff — employees
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. mug — to rob
  11. degree — from a university
  12. mug — a face
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. bat — the animal
  15. content — the amount
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. firm — a company
  18. staff — a stick
  19. firm — steady
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. degree — an amount
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. clip — for paper
  24. firm — decided

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