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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 116 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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. Where did you ________________ them?
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. file — a tool
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. clip — to cut
  5. mug — a face
  6. clip — a video
  7. mug — a cup
  8. degree — temperature
  9. ground — crushed
  10. degree — from a university
  11. file — a line of people
  12. bound — certain
  13. file — a document
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. mug — to rob
  16. kick — in football
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. ground — a position
  19. degree — an amount
  20. bound — tied together
  21. clip — for paper
  22. ground — the earth
  23. fine — high quality
  24. bound — obliged

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