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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 120 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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. swing — to play on
  3. clip — to cut
  4. lean — to bend
  5. can — a tin
  6. dip — to sink
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. degree — an amount
  9. degree — temperature
  10. swing — music
  11. swing — in golf
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. lean — thin
  15. last — final
  16. clip — a video
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. stock — shares
  19. last — to go on
  20. can — a tin
  21. stock — goods
  22. can — to be able to
  23. last — finally
  24. clip — for paper

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