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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. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. degree — temperature
  3. lean — thin
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. tube — the underground
  6. clip — for paper
  7. degree — from a university
  8. capital — money
  9. bound — tied together
  10. pit — in a race
  11. bore — to drill
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. bore — to tire
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. bound — certain
  18. bound — obliged
  19. lean — to bend
  20. clip — to cut
  21. degree — an amount
  22. pit — a hole
  23. capital — a city
  24. tube — a container

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