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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 120 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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. I can't ________________ this cold.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  8. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  9. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. When was this ________________ built?
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. content — the amount
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. stand — to bear
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. bat — the animal
  7. stand — on your feet
  8. safe — a strongbox
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. clip — to cut
  11. degree — an amount
  12. stand — for spectators
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. content — happy
  15. degree — temperature
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. lean — thin
  19. degree — from a university
  20. lean — to bend
  21. clip — a video
  22. temple — side of the head
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. safe — out of danger

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