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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. fine — a penalty
  4. last — finally
  5. row — to paddle
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. last — to go on
  8. fine — all right
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. bass — the fish
  13. pound — a weight
  14. last — final
  15. row — a line
  16. pitch — completely
  17. degree — an amount
  18. clip — to cut
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. clip — for paper
  21. bass — low music
  22. clip — a video
  23. degree — temperature
  24. fine — high quality

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