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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. chip — in a computer
  4. deal — to handle
  5. chip — for betting
  6. spring — a coil
  7. clip — a video
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. degree — from a university
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. tear — to rip
  14. tear — from crying
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. degree — an amount
  17. tear — from crying
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. spring — the season
  20. clip — for paper
  21. degree — temperature
  22. spring — of water
  23. chip — to eat
  24. fork — in a road

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