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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. He is an ace ________________.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  18. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  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. pitcher — in baseball
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. game — wild animals
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. clip — for paper
  9. can — a tin
  10. degree — from a university
  11. squash — the sport
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. dip — to sink
  14. degree — temperature
  15. wake — a trail
  16. squash — to crush
  17. can — to be able to
  18. can — a tin
  19. degree — an amount
  20. game — a match
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. clip — to cut
  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