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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. ________________ you help me carry this box?

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. rock — music
  3. can — a tin
  4. clip — a video
  5. cell — in biology
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. wake — a trail
  9. degree — from a university
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. squash — the sport
  12. wound — an injury
  13. squash — to crush
  14. degree — temperature
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. cell — a phone
  17. clip — to cut
  18. can — a tin
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. degree — an amount
  21. wound — an injury
  22. rock — a stone
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. can — to be able to

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