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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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  16. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. cap — a lid
  3. cap — of ice
  4. spell — magic
  5. pass — to succeed
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. cap — a hat
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. pass — a permit
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. spell — a short time
  13. ruler — a monarch
  14. degree — from a university
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. file — a document
  18. spell — letters
  19. degree — temperature
  20. file — a line of people
  21. clip — for paper
  22. file — a tool
  23. clip — to cut
  24. degree — an amount

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