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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. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  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. row — to paddle
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. clip — for paper
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. degree — an amount
  6. clip — a video
  7. clip — to cut
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. pitch — completely
  11. cap — a hat
  12. cap — of ice
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. row — a line
  16. wake — a trail
  17. cap — a lid
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. degree — from a university
  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