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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. object — a thing
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. clip — to cut
  5. cell — in biology
  6. degree — from a university
  7. object — an aim
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. degree — an amount
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. degree — temperature
  14. object — to protest
  15. pitch — completely
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. fork — in a road
  20. clip — a video
  21. game — wild animals
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. cell — a phone
  24. clip — for paper

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