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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. Where did you ________________ them?
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. He refilled his coffee ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. mug — to rob
  3. clip — a video
  4. ball — a dance
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. mug — a face
  8. ground — the earth
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. clip — to cut
  11. ground — a position
  12. ground — crushed
  13. degree — temperature
  14. rock — music
  15. degree — an amount
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. clip — for paper
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. dip — to sink
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. ball — a great time
  23. rock — a stone
  24. mug — a cup

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