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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 train ________________ at six o'clock.
  2. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — to go away
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. degree — an amount
  4. clip — a video
  5. cue — for pool
  6. cue — a signal
  7. clip — for paper
  8. game — wild animals
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. last — to go on
  11. ground — a position
  12. game — a match
  13. last — finally
  14. cue — a hint
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. last — final
  17. degree — from a university
  18. clip — to cut
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. degree — temperature
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. ground — crushed
  24. ground — the earth

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