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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: object · clip · patient · perch · leaves · court · pitch · degree

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. clip — to cut
  3. court — of a king
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. pitch — completely
  6. court — for sport
  7. clip — for paper
  8. object — to protest
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. perch — the fish
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. degree — from a university
  16. court — of law
  17. object — a thing
  18. degree — an amount
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. object — an aim
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. degree — temperature

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