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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. can — a tin
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. clip — a video
  5. degree — temperature
  6. content — happy
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. degree — from a university
  9. can — to be able to
  10. hand — in cards
  11. degree — an amount
  12. can — a tin
  13. clip — to cut
  14. content — the amount
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. prune — to trim
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. snap — to click
  20. prune — to trim
  21. wave — with your hand
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. hand — help
  24. content — videos and posts

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