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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. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  23. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. clip — to cut
  4. tear — from crying
  5. clip — for paper
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. rest — what's left
  8. degree — an amount
  9. degree — temperature
  10. degree — from a university
  11. wound — an injury
  12. wound — an injury
  13. rest — a break
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. rest — what's left
  16. toast — bread
  17. tear — to rip
  18. board — to get on
  19. tear — from crying
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. board — a committee
  23. toast — the most admired
  24. clip — a video

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