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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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. game — wild animals
  3. wound — an injury
  4. clip — for paper
  5. degree — an amount
  6. degree — temperature
  7. wound — an injury
  8. degree — from a university
  9. cue — a signal
  10. game — a match
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. cue — a hint
  15. plane — a tool
  16. fork — in a road
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. cue — for pool
  20. clip — to cut
  21. pit — in a race
  22. pit — a hole
  23. clip — a video
  24. fork — a garden tool

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