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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. court — of law
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. degree — temperature
  7. plane — a tool
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. clip — to cut
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. field — for sport
  12. court — for sport
  13. mouse — for a computer
  14. degree — an amount
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. clip — for paper
  18. field — farmland
  19. field — a subject
  20. court — of a king
  21. snap — to click
  22. clip — a video
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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