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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. degree — temperature
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. root — of a word
  7. root — of a plant
  8. pitch — completely
  9. degree — from a university
  10. degree — an amount
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. safe — a strongbox
  15. clip — a video
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. root — the cause
  18. clip — to cut
  19. scale — size or range
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. scale — in music
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. dip — to sink

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