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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. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  10. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  11. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a trace
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. hand — help
  5. mark — a grade
  6. rash — a series
  7. degree — from a university
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. pass — a permit
  10. pass — to succeed
  11. board — a flat piece
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. clip — for paper
  14. hand — in cards
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. degree — temperature
  18. clip — a video
  19. clip — to cut
  20. board — to get on
  21. degree — an amount
  22. rash — hasty
  23. board — a committee
  24. pound — a weight

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