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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 usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  24. I've got to change the light ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. date — the fruit
  3. roll — a list
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. clip — a video
  6. object — a thing
  7. bulb — for light
  8. object — to protest
  9. degree — an amount
  10. degree — temperature
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. clip — for paper
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. pass — to succeed
  15. degree — from a university
  16. object — an aim
  17. fork — in a road
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. clip — to cut
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. pass — a permit
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. roll — a cake
  24. bulb — for light

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