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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. object — to protest
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. scale — in music
  6. clip — a video
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. object — a thing
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. degree — from a university
  12. face — to confront
  13. bear — the animal
  14. scale — size or range
  15. clip — to cut
  16. degree — temperature
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. bear — the animal
  19. degree — an amount
  20. chair — a leader
  21. deal — to handle
  22. face — part of the head
  23. object — an aim
  24. face — to point toward

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