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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. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — to go away
  2. degree — from a university
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. clip — for paper
  5. pound — a weight
  6. clip — to cut
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. degree — an amount
  12. degree — temperature
  13. pitch — completely
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. content — the amount
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. kick — in football
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. clip — a video
  24. content — happy

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