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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. degree — temperature
  3. clip — a video
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. clip — for paper
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. object — to protest
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. stand — to bear
  12. scale — size or range
  13. object — a thing
  14. degree — an amount
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. bark — to shout
  17. pop — music
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. scale — in music
  20. pop — soda
  21. pop — to visit
  22. degree — from a university
  23. object — an aim
  24. stand — on your feet

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