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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 120 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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. face — part of the head
  3. firm — decided
  4. clip — to cut
  5. net — for catching
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. bark — to shout
  9. face — to confront
  10. clip — a video
  11. degree — from a university
  12. face — to point toward
  13. firm — a company
  14. capital — money
  15. clip — for paper
  16. degree — temperature
  17. firm — steady
  18. fine — high quality
  19. net — in sport
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. capital — a city
  23. fine — all right
  24. net — after costs

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