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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. The light ________________ burned out.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. bulb — for light
  3. degree — from a university
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. cold — an illness
  6. lie — to recline
  7. bulb — of a plant
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. degree — temperature
  10. clip — a video
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. cold — not warm
  13. clip — for paper
  14. deal — to handle
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. bulb — for light
  17. clip — to cut
  18. degree — an amount

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