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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. clip — a video
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. court — of a king
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. court — of law
  9. clip — to cut
  10. bulb — for light
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. bulb — for light
  15. clip — for paper
  16. degree — from a university
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. court — for sport
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. bass — the fish
  23. bass — low music
  24. degree — temperature

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