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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  13. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. clip — to cut
  3. last — final
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. bank — for money
  9. degree — temperature
  10. last — finally
  11. clip — for paper
  12. bank — of a river
  13. mouse — for a computer
  14. clip — a video
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. bank — for money
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. last — to go on
  20. date — the fruit
  21. degree — from a university
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. mouse — the animal

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