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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 120 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: wind · mug · racket · clip · chip · mark · bulb · degree

  1. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Where did you ________________ them?
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. mark — a trace
  3. wind — moving air
  4. degree — from a university
  5. wind — moving air
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. clip — a video
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. degree — temperature
  10. chip — to eat
  11. mark — a grade
  12. degree — an amount
  13. bulb — for light
  14. clip — to cut
  15. mug — to rob
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. clip — for paper
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. bulb — for light
  20. chip — for betting
  21. mug — a face
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. mug — a cup
  24. chip — in a computer

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