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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. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — with your hand
  2. clip — to cut
  3. key — in music
  4. degree — an amount
  5. key — for a lock
  6. cap — a hat
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. cap — a lid
  9. wave — of the sea
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. band — a music group
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. degree — from a university
  14. clip — for paper
  15. band — a ring
  16. fork — in a road
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. cap — of ice
  19. sharp — clever
  20. key — the most important part
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. clip — a video
  24. degree — temperature

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