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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: content · wake · clip · swing · spring · pitch · degree · tube

  1. David sat on the ________________.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. wake — a trail
  3. tube — the underground
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. degree — temperature
  6. swing — in golf
  7. tube — a container
  8. spring — the season
  9. swing — music
  10. content — the amount
  11. pitch — completely
  12. content — happy
  13. spring — a coil
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. clip — to cut
  17. spring — of water
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. clip — a video
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. degree — from a university
  22. clip — for paper
  23. degree — an amount
  24. wake — before a funeral

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