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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. bulb — for light
  3. clip — for paper
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. sharp — clever
  6. degree — from a university
  7. clip — to cut
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. dip — to sink
  13. present — the time now
  14. present — there
  15. date — the fruit
  16. degree — an amount
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. bulb — for light
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. clip — a video
  22. present — a gift
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. degree — temperature

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