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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. The tickets are free of ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. cue — a hint
  3. cue — for pool
  4. degree — an amount
  5. clip — to cut
  6. shower — to wash
  7. lean — thin
  8. degree — temperature
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. clip — a video
  11. date — the fruit
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. cue — a signal
  15. clip — for paper
  16. charge — in control
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. charge — electricity
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. shower — rain
  22. lean — to bend
  23. charge — a price
  24. lean — to rest against

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