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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: degree · object · pitcher · cell · mate · season · pop · clip

  1. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. degree — temperature
  3. mate — to breed
  4. degree — an amount
  5. pop — to visit
  6. object — to protest
  7. clip — for paper
  8. mate — a friend
  9. pop — music
  10. degree — from a university
  11. object — an aim
  12. clip — a video
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. object — a thing
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. pop — soda
  18. season — of the year
  19. clip — to cut
  20. mate — a partner
  21. cell — in biology
  22. cell — a phone
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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