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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. drill — the tool
  5. bulb — for light
  6. court — for sport
  7. ground — the earth
  8. can — a tin
  9. can — to be able to
  10. ground — a position
  11. drill — a practice
  12. clip — a video
  13. degree — an amount
  14. court — of law
  15. court — of a king
  16. can — a tin
  17. degree — temperature
  18. drill — army training
  19. degree — from a university
  20. bulb — for light
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. clip — to cut
  24. ground — crushed

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