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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  8. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. track — a song
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. track — a path
  5. sharp — clever
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. toast — the most admired
  8. toast — a drink to someone
  9. clip — for paper
  10. date — the fruit
  11. track — to keep track
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. degree — temperature
  14. degree — from a university
  15. bear — the animal
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. clip — to cut
  20. toast — bread
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. bear — the animal
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. clip — a video

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