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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. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. chair — a leader
  5. perch — the fish
  6. court — of law
  7. clip — for paper
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. press — a publisher
  10. content — the amount
  11. degree — an amount
  12. press — to push
  13. court — for sport
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. degree — temperature
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. court — of a king
  18. press — newspapers
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. content — happy
  22. clip — to cut
  23. degree — from a university
  24. calf — a young animal

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