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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 was locked up in a ________________.
  2. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. firm — a company
  3. bulb — for light
  4. ground — crushed
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. degree — from a university
  7. clip — a video
  8. bulb — for light
  9. ground — a position
  10. fall — to drop
  11. stock — goods
  12. degree — temperature
  13. ground — the earth
  14. fall — the season
  15. firm — decided
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. clip — for paper
  18. fall — to drop
  19. cell — a phone
  20. stock — shares
  21. cell — in biology
  22. clip — to cut
  23. degree — an amount
  24. firm — steady

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