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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. When will it ________________ you to start?
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. ground — crushed
  3. chip — for betting
  4. degree — from a university
  5. bulb — for light
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. degree — an amount
  9. ground — a position
  10. chip — to eat
  11. bass — the fish
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. clip — a video
  14. suit — to fit
  15. branch — a division
  16. suit — clothes
  17. bass — low music
  18. degree — temperature
  19. clip — to cut
  20. bulb — for light
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. ground — the earth
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. suit — in cards

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