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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. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. The tickets are free of ________________.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Where did you ________________ them?
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  14. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. clip — to cut
  3. court — of law
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. degree — an amount
  6. clip — for paper
  7. charge — a price
  8. court — of a king
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. clip — a video
  11. mug — to rob
  12. field — farmland
  13. charge — in control
  14. charge — electricity
  15. court — for sport
  16. rest — what's left
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. mug — a cup
  19. degree — temperature
  20. mug — a face
  21. rest — a break
  22. field — a subject
  23. degree — from a university
  24. field — for sport

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