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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. present — a gift
  4. clip — to cut
  5. degree — from a university
  6. stand — to bear
  7. degree — temperature
  8. present — the time now
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. land — to come down
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. land — ground
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. snap — to click
  17. stand — on your feet
  18. dip — to sink
  19. clip — for paper
  20. degree — an amount
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. clip — a video
  24. land — a country

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