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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. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. bear — the animal
  3. clip — for paper
  4. stem — to come from
  5. clip — a video
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. degree — temperature
  10. wax — to grow
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. kick — in football
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. degree — from a university
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. clip — to cut
  17. bear — the animal
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. lie — to recline
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. mouse — for a computer
  24. wax — for sculpting

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