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

  1. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. clip — a video
  3. rule — government
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. capital — money
  6. degree — an amount
  7. rule — a law
  8. clip — to cut
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. degree — temperature
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. dip — to sink
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. capital — a city
  17. degree — from a university
  18. clip — for paper

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