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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 120 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 office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. dip — to sink
  3. degree — an amount
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. degree — from a university
  6. bass — the fish
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. wake — a trail
  11. staff — employees
  12. clip — a video
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. ground — the earth
  16. bass — low music
  17. ground — a position
  18. staff — a stick
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. clip — to cut
  21. degree — temperature
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. ground — crushed
  24. clip — for paper

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