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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  19. When will it ________________ you to start?
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. present — there
  3. wake — a trail
  4. saw — the tool
  5. clip — to cut
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. content — the amount
  8. degree — an amount
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. content — happy
  11. saw — the tool
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. suit — in cards
  14. present — a gift
  15. degree — from a university
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. degree — temperature
  18. suit — clothes
  19. suit — to fit
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. clip — a video
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. present — the time now

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