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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. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. When was this ________________ built?
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. face — part of the head
  3. clip — for paper
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. degree — temperature
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. bore — to drill
  10. present — a gift
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. degree — from a university
  13. present — the time now
  14. last — finally
  15. clip — to cut
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. face — to point toward
  18. last — final
  19. present — there
  20. face — to confront
  21. bore — to tire
  22. degree — an amount
  23. last — to go on
  24. temple — side of the head

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