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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. degree — temperature
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. tube — a container
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. degree — from a university
  9. kick — in football
  10. chip — for betting
  11. clip — a video
  12. bass — the fish
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. chip — to eat
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. tube — the underground
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. hand — in cards
  19. hand — help
  20. bass — low music
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. degree — an amount
  23. clip — for paper
  24. tube — in a tire

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