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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. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  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. toast — bread
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. firm — a company
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. swing — music
  6. game — a match
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. clip — to cut
  9. toast — the most admired
  10. degree — from a university
  11. clip — for paper
  12. toast — a drink to someone
  13. degree — an amount
  14. swing — to play on
  15. game — wild animals
  16. fine — all right
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. clip — a video
  19. swing — in golf
  20. firm — steady
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. fine — high quality
  23. firm — decided
  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