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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. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. ground — a position
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. can — a tin
  5. ground — crushed
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. ground — the earth
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. degree — from a university
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. clip — to cut
  13. degree — temperature
  14. clip — for paper
  15. branch — a division
  16. clip — a video
  17. can — to be able to
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. mine — for digging
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. band — a ring
  23. band — a music group
  24. degree — an amount

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