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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. clip — to cut
  4. degree — temperature
  5. track — a song
  6. fall — to drop
  7. degree — from a university
  8. bass — low music
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. clip — a video
  11. chip — to eat
  12. track — a path
  13. fall — to drop
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. dip — to sink
  16. bass — the fish
  17. fall — the season
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. track — to keep track
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. chip — for betting
  23. clip — for paper
  24. snap — to click

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