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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  17. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. degree — temperature
  3. pop — soda
  4. tear — to rip
  5. degree — an amount
  6. pop — music
  7. tear — from crying
  8. pop — to visit
  9. clip — to cut
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. spell — letters
  12. face — to confront
  13. tear — from crying
  14. degree — from a university
  15. lie — to recline
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. safe — a strongbox
  18. spell — a short time
  19. face — part of the head
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. face — to point toward
  22. clip — a video
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. spell — magic

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