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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 116 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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. degree — temperature
  3. clip — for paper
  4. spring — a coil
  5. track — a path
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. bound — certain
  8. pitch — completely
  9. track — a song
  10. track — to keep track
  11. pass — a permit
  12. spring — of water
  13. wind — moving air
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. bound — tied together
  17. degree — from a university
  18. spring — the season
  19. clip — to cut
  20. bound — obliged
  21. clip — a video
  22. pass — to succeed
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. degree — an amount

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