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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. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. net — in sport
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. degree — from a university
  5. clip — for paper
  6. object — to protest
  7. clip — a video
  8. swing — to play on
  9. degree — temperature
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. pit — in a race
  12. swing — music
  13. net — after costs
  14. object — a thing
  15. root — of a word
  16. root — of a plant
  17. object — an aim
  18. net — for catching
  19. degree — an amount
  20. stem — to come from
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. root — the cause
  23. clip — to cut
  24. swing — in golf

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