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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 band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. I've got to change the light ________________.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. net — after costs
  3. degree — from a university
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. degree — an amount
  7. current — electric
  8. bulb — for light
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. degree — temperature
  11. clip — for paper
  12. march — the month
  13. march — the month
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. current — happening now
  16. clip — to cut
  17. net — in sport
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. net — for catching
  20. current — of water
  21. rush — hurry
  22. bulb — for light
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. clip — a video

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