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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 124 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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. degree — an amount
  3. plane — a tool
  4. bore — to tire
  5. rest — what's left
  6. pit — a hole
  7. clip — a video
  8. track — to keep track
  9. pit — in a race
  10. clip — to cut
  11. degree — temperature
  12. track — a path
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. rest — a break
  16. track — a song
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. rest — what's left
  21. bore — to drill
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. clip — for paper
  24. fan — a supporter

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