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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. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. clip — to cut
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. bulb — for light
  6. bulb — for light
  7. rash — hasty
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. degree — temperature
  10. degree — an amount
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. lie — to recline
  14. clip — for paper
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. degree — from a university
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. snap — to click
  22. clip — a video
  23. rash — a series
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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