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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. You can't go backstage without a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. game — wild animals
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. degree — from a university
  6. degree — temperature
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. clip — a video
  9. stock — shares
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. stock — goods
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. clip — to cut
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. game — a match
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. rush — hurry
  23. degree — an amount
  24. pass — a permit

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