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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 ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. This piece is in a major ________________.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. rest — what's left
  3. drill — the tool
  4. key — in music
  5. content — the amount
  6. stem — to come from
  7. rest — what's left
  8. degree — temperature
  9. content — happy
  10. key — for a lock
  11. drill — a practice
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. degree — from a university
  14. march — the month
  15. drill — army training
  16. clip — for paper
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. rest — a break
  19. march — music
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. clip — a video
  22. march — the month
  23. degree — an amount
  24. key — the most important part

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