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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. roll — a list
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. clip — to cut
  7. game — wild animals
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. clip — for paper
  10. bass — the fish
  11. craft — boats
  12. roll — a cake
  13. degree — from a university
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. clip — a video
  16. game — a match
  17. degree — an amount
  18. bass — low music
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. craft — a skill
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. snap — to click
  24. roll — on a roll

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