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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. Where did you ________________ them?
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  22. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. clip — to cut
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. degree — from a university
  5. mug — a face
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. jam — a tight spot
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. clip — a video
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. clip — for paper
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. wind — moving air
  15. mug — to rob
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. wind — moving air
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. pitch — completely
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. jam — to spread on bread
  22. mug — a cup
  23. degree — an amount
  24. jam — in traffic

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