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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.

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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. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  13. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  14. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  19. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. clip — to cut
  3. bat — the animal
  4. toast — bread
  5. spring — a coil
  6. bound — obliged
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. degree — an amount
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. spring — of water
  12. firm — a company
  13. firm — steady
  14. toast — the most admired
  15. craft — boats
  16. craft — a skill
  17. degree — temperature
  18. firm — decided
  19. toast — a drink to someone
  20. bound — tied together
  21. degree — from a university
  22. clip — for paper
  23. bound — certain
  24. spring — the season

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