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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. clip — a video
  3. degree — an amount
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. clip — for paper
  6. present — the time now
  7. degree — temperature
  8. present — a gift
  9. rest — what's left
  10. degree — from a university
  11. net — after costs
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. pop — to visit
  14. snap — to click
  15. net — in sport
  16. pop — soda
  17. present — there
  18. net — for catching
  19. wound — an injury
  20. wound — an injury
  21. pop — music
  22. rest — what's left
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. rest — a break

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