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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 116 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. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. clip — a video
  3. spring — a coil
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. swing — music
  6. swing — to play on
  7. spring — the season
  8. degree — an amount
  9. degree — from a university
  10. rock — a stone
  11. clip — to cut
  12. mark — a grade
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. degree — temperature
  16. dip — to sink
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. mark — a trace
  19. swing — in golf
  20. clip — for paper
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. rock — music
  24. spring — of water

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