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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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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. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. The people resisted their cruel ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. clip — to cut
  3. wake — a trail
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. object — to protest
  7. object — an aim
  8. wind — moving air
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. clip — a video
  11. degree — from a university
  12. degree — an amount
  13. wind — moving air
  14. object — a thing
  15. clip — for paper
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. degree — temperature
  18. ruler — a monarch

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