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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. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  5. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. degree — temperature
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. bank — for money
  5. bank — for money
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. clip — to cut
  9. degree — from a university
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. kick — in football
  12. capital — a city
  13. bank — of a river
  14. row — to paddle
  15. squash — the sport
  16. degree — an amount
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. capital — money
  19. row — a line
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. squash — to crush
  23. clip — for paper
  24. clip — a video

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