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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. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  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. object — an aim
  2. clip — for paper
  3. toast — the most admired
  4. spell — a short time
  5. spell — magic
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. object — to protest
  9. toast — a drink to someone
  10. bass — low music
  11. toast — bread
  12. clip — to cut
  13. bass — the fish
  14. spell — letters
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. deal — to handle
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. clip — a video
  21. degree — an amount
  22. object — a thing
  23. degree — from a university
  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