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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. When was this ________________ built?
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. pitch — completely
  3. temple — side of the head
  4. clip — for paper
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. clip — a video
  8. clip — to cut
  9. pound — a weight
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. bound — obliged
  14. bound — tied together
  15. degree — an amount
  16. bound — certain
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. mine — for digging
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. degree — temperature
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. mine — belonging to me

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