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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 120 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. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. clip — to cut
  3. present — a gift
  4. degree — from a university
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. present — there
  9. spell — magic
  10. degree — temperature
  11. present — the time now
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. bulb — for light
  14. bulb — for light
  15. wake — a trail
  16. spell — letters
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. pitch — completely
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. clip — a video
  22. clip — for paper
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. degree — an amount

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