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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. clip — to cut
  3. stand — to bear
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. mark — a grade
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. stand — for spectators
  8. mark — a trace
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. pit — a hole
  11. degree — an amount
  12. spell — a short time
  13. stand — on your feet
  14. pit — in a race
  15. tear — from crying
  16. spell — letters
  17. degree — temperature
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. tear — to rip
  20. tear — from crying
  21. clip — for paper
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. spell — magic
  24. clip — a video

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