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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. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  20. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — to spread on bread
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. degree — from a university
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. fall — to drop
  7. clip — for paper
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. jam — in traffic
  10. fall — the season
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. degree — temperature
  13. content — happy
  14. content — the amount
  15. bank — for money
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. degree — an amount
  18. fall — to drop
  19. bank — for money
  20. jam — a tight spot
  21. snap — to click
  22. bank — of a river
  23. clip — a video
  24. clip — to cut

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