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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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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: degree · deal · ground · clip · chest · safe · tube · dip

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. chest — a box
  3. ground — crushed
  4. clip — for paper
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. clip — to cut
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. ground — a position
  9. clip — a video
  10. ground — the earth
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. safe — a strongbox
  13. dip — to sink
  14. degree — from a university
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. tube — the underground
  18. chest — of your body
  19. degree — temperature
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. tube — a container
  23. chest — of your body
  24. deal — to handle

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