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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. This piece is in a major ________________.
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. We're on a ________________ here.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. key — in music
  3. key — the most important part
  4. roll — a cake
  5. roll — on a roll
  6. degree — from a university
  7. object — to protest
  8. tear — to rip
  9. object — an aim
  10. capital — a city
  11. degree — temperature
  12. roll — a list
  13. root — of a word
  14. clip — for paper
  15. capital — money
  16. tear — from crying
  17. degree — an amount
  18. root — of a plant
  19. clip — to cut
  20. tear — from crying
  21. key — for a lock
  22. root — the cause
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. object — a thing

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