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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. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. degree — temperature
  5. clip — for paper
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. clip — to cut
  8. band — a ring
  9. ground — crushed
  10. clip — a video
  11. ground — the earth
  12. dip — to sink
  13. ground — a position
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. degree — from a university
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. degree — an amount
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. band — a music group

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