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

Word bank: bass · pound · clip · foot · degree · face · pit · kick

  1. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. degree — an amount
  3. clip — for paper
  4. clip — a video
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. kick — in football
  7. face — to confront
  8. pit — in a race
  9. face — to point toward
  10. bass — the fish
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. foot — the bottom
  13. clip — to cut
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. face — part of the head
  16. pit — a hole
  17. degree — temperature
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. pound — a weight
  21. foot — a measure
  22. degree — from a university
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. kick — a thrill

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