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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. file — a document
  3. bass — the fish
  4. degree — from a university
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. bass — low music
  8. can — a tin
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. degree — temperature
  11. wound — an injury
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. can — a tin
  14. face — to confront
  15. file — a line of people
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. can — to be able to
  18. file — a tool
  19. clip — for paper
  20. clip — a video
  21. face — to point toward
  22. degree — an amount
  23. wound — an injury
  24. face — part of the head

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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